28.06.15

27

INSIDE:

smart ways to upgrade

your lifeNewquay’s Corinne Evans wants to get you surfing

+ WILD FOOD FORAGING

+ SUMMER SKIN SOS

+ FINDING LOVE IN FALMOUTH

+ HEALTHY BREAKFAST

+ TENNIS WHITES

PLUS:

‘I aim to inspire’

+ WIN A £175 SURFBOARD

Cover_June28.indd 1 24/06/2015 15:30:59

You could live 10 yearslonger with healthiergums Gum disease significantly increases your risk of

type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke and it'sthe biggest cause of tooth loss in the over 40’s. Is ittime you saw a gum expert?

“Many people start to show gum disease in their mid-30sand by the time they get to 45-50 they’re starting to seemore of it. It’s probably the most prevalent disease in man-kind – it’s utterly huge, and it’s an undertreated aspect ofdentistry”Dr Ben Pearson

Did you know you could live 10 years longer and keep yourteeth for the rest of your life if your gum disease was treatedproperly?

Gum disease exists in 83% of adults and is harming yourhealth by increasing your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart attackand stroke. It is the main cause of tooth loss in the over 40’sand yet it is entirely treatable.

That’s why the world of dentistry is changing, and Life Dental& Wellbeing in Exeter is leading that change.

Principal Dentist Dr Ben Pearson is passionate about reducinghis patients’ risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and othercommon life shortening conditions.

He has extensive experience in periodontology (the study ofgum health) and performs health checks on his patients toshow them healthier gums really do mean better generalhealth.

Dr Pearson also provides patients with a dietician and awellbeing coach to treat other sources of ill health such aspoor diet and sleep apnoea.

All patients who join a Life Care Plan receive free DentalHealth Checks for the rest of their life and benefit fromaffordable care with 0% finance available for some treat-ments. Patients can spread the cost of their care withpayment plans and all work is guaranteed for five years.

Life Dental & Wellbeing is open evenings and weekends andinvites new patients to enjoy a healthier, longer life.

31 Queen Street, Exeter EX4 3SR | info@lifedentalandwellbeing.co.uk | 01392 278843

83% of adults have gum disease

About Dr Ben PearsonFormer Royal Naval dentist Dr Ben Pearson is a member ofthe British Society of Periodontology, the British Society ofDental Sleep Medicine and the British Dental Association.He is passionate about helping his patients achieve optimaloral and general health.

Why choose Life Dental & Wellbeing?> Open evenings and weekends, with hours to suit you> Affordable treatment and payment plans to spread the costof your care, with 0% finance for some treatments> All Life Dental & Wellbeing work is guaranteed for five years> See our dietician and wellbeing coach> Health checks for all new patients and free Dental HealthChecks for life> All routine and complex dental work is carried out in state ofthe art surgeries using the very latest dental technologies.

> Call: 01392 278843> Email: info@lifedentalandwellbeing.co.uk> Visit: lifedentalandwellbeing.co.uk for further information

TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT

Untitled-6 2 24/06/2015 14:37:24

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6 THE WISHLISTThe loveliest things to buy this week

8 NEW BABY, NEW WORLDOur columnist on a life-changing arrival

10 WEST IN PICTURESWild poppies, fresh co� ee and more...

11 BORIS ON EXMOORUncovering Mr Johnson’s rural roots

12 MADE WITH LOVEArt and romance meet in Falmouth

16 SURFER GIRLThe surf goddess seeking to help others

22 LUXURY COTTAGECool Cornish interiors

28 BEAUTYReviews, treats and more

30 WHITE HOTCool fashion for warm days

38 SAVING FACE How to revive sun-baked skin

42 DARTMOOR CALLING What to do, where to go

44 SEASHORE FORAGING Tim Maddams gathers wild food

45 THE BEER EXPERTDarren Norbury sups up

46 MAN & BOYPhil Goodwin wants some answers

contents[ [Inside this week...

‘We knew we were going to get married with a few weeks of

meeting each other. We had found the one’

Art and romance combine on page 12 today

PERFECT POOLThe Cornish cottage with so much more

22

32 SUMMER LEATHER We play hide and chic

HEALTHY BREAKFASTThe recipe you can’t resist35

GEORDIE, SUREHow to speak Cheryl’s language1112 MADE WITH LOVE

An artistic romance in Falmouth

30 WHITE HOT Cool fashion for warm days

Contents_June28.indd 3 24/06/2015 14:35:42

4

[[ [[welcome[ [

If you’re in a sunshine mood this weekend, look no further for a real celebration of just how won-derful it is to live in the Westcountry at this time of year.

First up, we’ve got a fascinating interview with Newquay’s Corinne Evans, a young surfer who is busy encourag-ing women of all ages, shapes and sizes to have a go at riding the waves. As Corinne, 27, says, eve-ryone can try surfi ng, and she regularly teach-es women from the ages of six to sixty. Find out how she juggles this with her busy life as a surf model on page 16 today. And if you’re tempted to have a go, we’ve got a £175 surfboard to win in today’s magazine - see opposite for details.

In other pages this week, our wonderful gar-dening expert Anne Swithinbank fi nds much to inspire her at the Eden Project - but outside the biomes. In the gardens lining the slopes of the former claypit, she gets lots of ideas for plants

that can survive hot, dry conditions - with the warm weather we’ve had lately, you’ll want to follow her advice.

We’ve also got some terrifi c foodie inspira-tion in the pages of

West this week. Ally Mac, our health guru, is making bircher muesli with a twist on page 35, while TV’s Tim Maddams goes foraging on the seashore on page 44. We’ve also got a fabulous weekend break offer on page 43 - check it out!

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

@WMNWest

Read the incredible story behind Miss Cornwall’s

lovely smile

[ [It’s a celebration of how wonderful life is

at this time of year

Becky Sheaves, Editor

MEET THE TEAM

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

Summer’s here, and so are we!

Tweetof the week

[POOL LIFEThe Cornish cottage with a luxury setting22

Eds note: Beautiful, and brave!

EdsLetter1thing.indd 4 24/06/2015 13:58:10

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If youone thing

buy

this week...

The Original Sur� oard Company, based in Newquay, sells British-made wooden sur� oards. They’re a great way to recapture the glamour and fun of the days when old-school wooden boards were the most stylish accessory on the beach.

We are lucky enough to have the company’s top spec Atlantic Stripe board, worth £175, to give away. For your chance to win, just email us your name, address and phone number, with Atlantic Stripe as the subject, to

westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk by July 19 at the latest. Normal terms apply.

Win

EdsLetter1thing.indd 5 24/06/2015 13:59:11

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Our top picks of the things you’ll love this week

wishlist

This gorgeous shop in Ivybridge stocks French-inspired furniture and bits and pieces, including wooden frames for displaying old photographs and unusual doorknobs to li� the look of a plain chest of drawers. The delightfully-scented Marseille soap comes in many evocative scents, which will whisk you o� to a sc-laden Mediterranean garden. Jaz Interiors is at 16 Fore Street, Ivybridge PL21 9AB, www.jazinteriors.co.uk or call 01752 894012

adore...Store weJaz Interiors

TICK TOCKStanley alarm clock £22

www.cathkidston.com These coffee cups are decorated in prints inspired by Indian blockwork £8.50 each www.berryred.co.uk

Tropical toucans fl y across this Sugarhill Boutique sundress £49 www.rockmyvintage.co.uk

Put the kettle on

Wishlist_June28.indd 6 24/06/2015 11:16:45

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Wishlist

Cute watering can in raspberry steel, £19.25 www.berryred.co.uk

This Temple necklace is handmade by jeweller Abby Mosseri with Sri Lankan moonstones set in 18 carat gold on a silver chain £1,980 www.abbymosseri.com

Beautiful and useful: RHS chrysanthemum kneeler £22.50

www.berryred.co.uk

Colourful bamboo utensil set £19.99 www.kiwifunk.com

Refresh

Wishlist_June28.indd 7 24/06/2015 11:17:49

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talking points

Michelle Obama looked stunning on her recent London trip to discuss global edu-cational campaign Let Girls Learn. She met David and Samantha Cameron in Downing Street in this gorgeous embroidered Christo-pher Kane dress. At www.net-a-porter.com there’s a lovely poppy detail skirt by this Brit designer, but it’s £865, so we’ve opted for three less costly First Lady alternatives.

stealherstyle

OR MAKE IT YOUR OWN

JUST ADD� owers

OPTION ASmartJumper dress £39.95 www.joe-browns.co.ukFlattering smart-casual

OPTION ASmockingTu at Sainsbury’s Embroidered smock dress £18Summery black

Jessie jacquard dress £59 www.monsoon.co.uk

Iron-on flowers £3 (below) and £2 (above) www.hobbycra� .co.uk

oon-to-be mamas embark on a helix-like journey from the moment they decide

they want sprogs, don’t they? The physical and the emotional threads are both intertwined and equally powerful. The more potent of the two threads will depend on the individual, but for me, the more strenuous by far was the emotional journey.

My son Woody was born on May 8 this year, a beautiful, slimy little bundle weighing 7lbs 1oz. He is snoring like a baby elephant next to me as I write – and somehow I have found the time to go shop-ping (for nappies and chocolate - since Woody came along and I became a milk churn, it’s a daily essential) and even to write this column.

Shopping and writing; two activi-ties I never would have thought pos-sible, especially both in the same day, even just a couple of weeks ago when Woody was brand-new. I’m getting there.

My now hefty 10-and-a-half pounder is the product of 14 months of effort to get pregnant, including scans, tearful appoint-ments and, fi nally, surgery to remove the endometriosis which was clinging to my insides and preventing him from coming into being. The nine months he was

in my belly were, physically, a breeze compared to all that – I had zero morning sickness and was still jogging fi ve months in.

And when the day came, he was with us within three hours of con-tractions starting. Indeed, I made it to hospital with only 20 minutes to spare. My antenatal class tutor tells me that we girls from over Exmouth way have a reputation for giving birth in the hospital car park, by the time we’ve raced the 12 miles to Exeter.

The psychological journey, however, didn’t run quite as

smoothly. As my husband Mike and I waited for the magic of concep-tion to happen, the depths of sadness and despair I felt for that year-and-a-bit while I didn’t know if I could be a mother were a dark place to be.

For this reason I kept my pregnancy on the down-low, holding back on

sharing the best thing that had ever happened to me, acutely aware that there may be others where I had been, and worse. But when I fell pregnant, to my horror, after a brief shift, the de-pression returned. How could I feel so blessed yet so dreadful? I’d heard of post-natal depression but only fl eetingly of pre-natal. It is far more common than we think, but most importantly, it does pass. And it certainly has.

Story of my life...

Fran McElhone

A new baby and a whole new world

Fran McElhone and her husband Mike live in east Devon with their new son Woody Next week: Gillian Molesworth on family life in Cornwall

S

‘The depths of despair and

sadness while I didn’t know if I could be a

mother were a dark place to be’

Gossip_June28.indd 8 24/06/2015 11:20:35

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Justbetween us!Gossip, news, trend setters and more - you

heard all the latest juicy stu here � rst!

BRAND NEW!

AB FAB GRANDMADevon’s Jennifer Saunders (she lives near Chagford) is planning a big screen version of her hit comedy Absolutely Fabulous. A headstrong attitude could be an advantage for teenage hopefuls vying for the role of her granddaughter - the search is on for a talented youngster to play Edina Monsoon’s 13- year old mixed race granddaughter,. Accord-

ing to the Radio Times, the youngster will have more of an a� nity with her outrageous grandmother than her em-barrassingly earnest mum Sa� y. Jen’s already � nished writing the script, revealing she bet comedy partner Dawn French £10,000 to get it done to deadline. Filming’s due to begin in London and the South of France in the autumn. We can’t wait!

Ghost hunting presenter Yvette Fielding’s ‘fessed up and revealed that one of The Most Haunted team’s most terrifying experiences turned out to be an encounter with… an ironing board which fell on an unsuspecting cameraman in the pitch dark. “He thought it

was a ghost that had leapt out from behind the door,” says Yvette, who once passed out during a nerve-jangling live broadcast from Berry Pomeroy Castle in Devon. “It’s the funniest footage. I actually nearly wet myself on that one, I was laugh-ing so much.”

Her fairytale Cinderella frock is set to go on show at the Port Eliot festival in Cornwall next month, but actress Lily James has confessed she’s keen to play more contemporary roles.The Cinderella and Down-ton Abbey star has taken on another period role as Natasha Rostova in War And Peace, � lmed for the BBC. But she says: “I’ve done with period for a while, I think. But if the right director comes knock-ing, you’ll do anything.” She reveals: “I’m saying jeans, no bra, T-shirt and a cigarette (is) much more like me.”

LILY: ‘I’M A JEANS GIRL, REALLY’

GHOST STORY...

A FUNNY

Gossip_June28.indd 9 24/06/2015 11:21:15

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in pictures

Beautiful: The National Trust’s meadow’s at West Pentire near Newquay

Yum: There’s a vintage coffee van now at Sutton Harbour in Plymouth

High hopes: The new Play Steps at

the Eden Project are proving to be lots of

fun for the kids

Aaaah: Baby cygnets on Stover Park lake in south Devon

WIPs_Lists_June28.indd 10 24/06/2015 11:23:54

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See me!

10 things we all did at school, that would get us red now:

1 Pulling down co-workers’ trousers

2 Firing elastic bands at col-leagues

3 Playing Kiss Chase

4 Heating pens to bend them

5 Drawing on your desk

6 Tattooing your arm with a compass and pen

7 Heading your work in bub-ble writing

8 Testing a “shatterproof” ruler till it breaks

9 Throwing bags at a col-league’s head

10 Dating then dumping, half the o� ce

talking points

10 words that only make sense to Geordies:

1 Ganzy (warm jumper)

2 Bait (food)

3 Nee bosh (no problem)

4 Clarty (muddy)

5 Snout (cigarette)

6 Dunch (to hit)

7 Scran (food)

8 Hadaway (hang on a minute)

9 Hoy (throw)

10 Gadgie (old man)

Why aye

I’ll have...

10 messy/awkward/odd dishes NOT to order on your rst date:

1 Spaghetti and meatballs

2 Chicken wings

3 Corn on the cob

4 A big, leafy salad

5 Anything you can’t pronounce

6 Fussy “free-from” food

7 Garlicky dishes

8 The exact same dish as your date ordered

9 Moules marinieres

10 Lobster or crab in its shell

Exmoor: “My grandparents absolutely loved this part of the country and I absolutely love this part of the country too. It’s the one place that I really do truly call home. All other places have changed but not this one.” says Boris, 50, of the Exmoor farm West Nethercote, which has been in his family since the 1950s.

Farming: Boris’ grandparents swapped a life of servants and parties for the rural life. Their Exmoor farm remains in the Johnson family to this day.

Rural: Boris remembers his grandmother cooking in a kitchen which used to be a cow shed: “When the concrete � oor needed cleaning, Granny would get a handful of wet tea leaves, hurl them into the dusty corners, and sweep up the gloop with a broom.”

Childhood: In the summer of 1969, Boris’ parents moved into a cottage on the family farm. Boris attended Winsford village school in 1970, before the family moved to London. To this day, he o� en visits the farm for weekends and holidays.

Royalty: Boris’ full name is Alexander Boris de Pfe� el Johnson. He discovered on the BBC Show Who Do You Think You Are? that he is related to most of the royalty of

Europe, through an ancestor who was the illegitimate daughter of a German prince.

Career: Boris worked as a journalist, then a Tory MP, before becoming Mayor of London in 2008. In this year’s general election he became an MP again and is now one of the contenders to be

the next leader of the Conservative Party.

Marriage: Boris has been married to Marina Wheeler since 1993 and they live in London. He initially dismissed as a “pyramid of inverted pi¤ e” allegations that he had an a� air with journalist Petronella Wyatt, which later proved to be true.

Family: His siblings are also high achievers – sister Rachel is a writer, brother Jo is an MP and his other brother Leo works in nance. His father Stanley is a writer and his mother Charlotte is an artist.

DID YOU KNOW?

Boris is Prime Minister

David Cameron’s

eighth cousin

This week:

Famous faces with links to the Westcountry

ONE OF US

Boris Johnson, MP, spent part of his childhood at his family’s farm on Exmoor and attended Winsford primary school

Boris Johnson

The happy list

10 things to make you smile this week1 Kim Murray’s dresses

Wimbledon gorgeousness

2 Fringed kimonos they’re just so cute to wear

3 Poppies in the elds

4 Oscar Young live music The Plough, Torrington July 11

5 Josh Widdicombe local funny guy in Liskeard, Sept 11

6 Spray tans they are healthier - and quicker, too

7 Green juice good for you

8 Seaweed salt the latest Cornish foodie trend

9 Glasto very fun festival

10 Cider chilled, over ice: nice

WIPs_Lists_June28.indd 11 24/06/2015 13:26:37

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Art with heartNorth 55 GAllery

Sarah Pitt hears a love story with a happy ending when she meets artists Inga Irving and Jack hayes in their Falmouth gallery

he walls of the North 55 on Fal-mouth’s Church Street are decorat-ed with canvases featuring abstract swirls of colour, some suggesting wild storms at sea, others the tur-

quoise placidity of the sea lapping onto the sands of a Cornish beach on a calm sunny day. Blues predominate in many, but there are also bright bursts of colour. And in the middle of all this exuberance, the two artists themselves are here, proudly showing me their work.

It seems appropriate that Jack Hayes and Inga Irving display their paintings together, in the gal-lery they set up themselves a year ago, because they also paint side by side in their studio at home. Art has, indeed, been the spark between them ever since they met and fell head over heels in love two years ago.

Inga, originally from Northern Ireland, was newly divorced with two little girls, then a toddler and a baby, when she met Jack in Hampshire.

They were both lapsed artists, painting a little in their spare time while holding down other jobs to pay the bills.

“I had gradually moved down the country from Sunderland, painting as I went,” says Jack. “I met Inga in Portsmouth and we just clicked. We knew in-stantly.”

There were no doubts for the couple, and Jack moved in with Inga and her two girls Cora and Indigo, now four and two.

And when Inga and Jack got married earlier this month, in the lush surroundings of Lamorran House Gardens at St Mawes overlooking a turquoise sea of the kind Inga loves to paint, Cora and Indigo were the flower girls.

Jack’s wedding present to Inga was the canvas

he had painted just after they met. Called Beauty is Truth, it took pride of place in the window of their gallery when they opened a year ago,

and was swiftly bought by a local couple. Later, Jack tracked them down and persuaded them to give it back, in return for “any painting they wanted” on the walls at North 55.

“I didn’t have the details of the couple who bought the painting, Inga did, so I had to lie basically and tell her they had requested a com-mission from me,” says Jack. “Once I had their address I wrote them a letter, explaining what sentimental value the picture had for us and I of-fered them any painting in the gal-lery in return - they wouldn’t take

any money. They are coming soon to choose the one they want. The painting is just such an im-

T

‘We knew that we were going to get married

within weeks of meeting each other. We had found the one’ [[

People

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Inga and Jack at home in Cornwall with daughters

Cora and Indigo

Feature1_IngeandJack.indd 13 24/06/2015 11:27:45

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portant one for us.”Inga and Jack made the decision to start a new

life in Falmouth with their girls after spending Christmas here with Inga’s brother Oliver, him-self an artist, at nearby Illogan, just a few months after they met. Within weeks they had bought a family house, in Redruth, and started looking in earnest for a place to open their gallery.

“My brother already lived here - he did his fi ne art degree at Falmouth - and so we thought, this is a beautiful place, there’s a really good art scene. Let’s just go and start our own gallery,” says Inga.

“I gave up my job as a teacher to move here, and the steady salary, but we are people who live on a wing and a prayer anyway. There are huge advantages to being self-employed. On a beauti-ful day, when I have just sold a painting, it is bril-liant to be able to just pick up the girls and head for the beach.”

Inga’s mum Ruth has also moved to Cornwall from Northern Ireland and helps look after the girls. Her watercolours are also for sale in the gallery, alongside Jack and Inga’s work. For Inga, art is very defi nitely something that runs in the family.

“My mum has painted ever since we were little. She used the money from selling her work to take us on travels all over the world,” says Inga. “I was brought up on my mum’s painting money.”

Both Inga and Jack grew up on the coast – Inga near the spectacular Giant’s Causeway on the wild north coast of Northern Ireland and Jack beside the wide sands of the resort of Roker on

the Sunderland coast. In what Inga and Jack describe as “one of many coincidences”, both places are on the same latitude, 55 degrees north – which gave them the name for their gallery, North 55.

Both Inga, 33, and Jack, 40, create their ab-stract paintings using oils. Inga’s work is pre-dominantly inspired by the sea, while Jack’s

often appear to conjure up the mysteries of the heavens.

“A lot of Jack’s work gets picked up by hotels, it is very much to do with the play of light and dark,” says Inga. “We are both passionate about using colour in abstract ways.

“In our gallery, it is wonderful to be able to sell our passion and we have fought hard to keep our prices affordable. It is such a buzz to be able to sell to people who say: ‘I have never bought art before’. Because we don’t have to pay commis-sion to anyone else, we can do this.”

Because of the size of many of their canvases, they work well in large public spaces with a cer-tain glitziness, like hotels. “The Greenbank Hotel in Falmouth has bought one of mine and two of Jack’s,” says Inga. “It is really fantastic to be able

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Inga and Jack’s wedding

Feature1_IngeandJack.indd 14 24/06/2015 11:28:27

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to go in and see our work hanging there.”They have also had interest from hotels in far-

fl ung parts of the world. In September, they are heading for Dubai to an art fair. Their work is also sold online through the prestigious Saatchi website.

Cornwall is home now for keeps, the couple say, and it the place where they want to raise their family; Inga is expecting a new baby at Christmas. “Living here is not about making a fortune, it is about the life we have,” says Inga.

At their family home in Redruth, where Inga and Jack live with their girls, Inga and Jack share many happy hours working alongside each other in their studio. “We learn from each other,” says Jack. “I think we value each other’s input – Inga will gently tell me if something is rubbish!”

Jack proposed to Inga at the offi cial opening of their gallery, in August last year, so entwined is the gallery – and their art – in their love story. “We knew that we were going to get married within weeks of meeting each other,” he says. For Inga, newly divorced and with two small girls, casual dating was not an option. “I just wasn’t interested,” she says. When she and Jack met, though, they both realised this was the real thing. “We just knew,” she says. “We both knew we had found the one.”

Visit www.north55falmouth.co.uk, 01326 311118

Breakthrough

Jack and Inga were particularly delighted to sell one of their more “far out” paintings to Glynis Tyrrell, who runs a large accountancy � rm in Falmouth. “She came in, stood in front of the painting, and said ‘You know what, I’m going to buy it, if you will deliver it and tell me where to hang it’,” says Inga. “Since she’s bought it, we have had half the town in here, saying, ‘This is where Glynis bought her painting”.

“I think there is a painting for everyone,” adds Jack. “It is so subjective, abstract art. One person can love something, while someone else doesn’t. We have sometimes had work in the gallery and we think it isn’t our favourite work, but then someone has come in, loved it and bought it. People are so di� erent. That’s the beauty of it, I guess.”

Inga’s art is inspired by the beautiful coastal

landscape in Cornwall

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Interview

Sea lifeCorinne Evans from Newquay is on a mission to get women - of all ages, shapes and sizes - into

surfing. She tells Becky Sheaves about sharing her passion for life on the ocean wave

here was a time when, to live a life of surfing every day, you’d have to turn your back on career ambitions (and financial security) in pursuit of the per-

fect wave. You’d work a bit in a shop or bar, travel a bit and surf a lot.

Today, however, things have changed. Newquay’s Corinne Evans is not only able to surf every day, “which I love”, she tells me, but is carving out an impressive career in the surfing world.

She runs her own women’s-only surfing tour, heads up an all-female annual surf fes-tival and is busy every day - not only surfing but inspiring others to try the sport.

“I’m passionate about surfing,” she ex-plains. “My aim is to encourage others, es-pecially women, to give it a go.”

To this end, Corinne, 27, is on the road for much of the summer, leaving the home she shares with her fiancé Ben Jones to travel all over the South West and Wales, holding special surfing days for women. “I’ve taught girls as young as six, and women of 60 come along,” she says. “The whole idea is to en-courage and support females to give surfing a go.

“This used to be a very macho, male-dom-

inated sport. But things really are changing. I just want everyone to have the chance to enjoy surfing as much as I do.”

And because Corinne came late to surfing herself, she has a special understanding of how it feels to be a complete beginner at this potentially rather frighten-ing sport. “I can vividly re-member being nervous and finding the waves really scarey,” Corinne says. “So I make sure my surf lessons are gentle and very patient. It‘s a lot of fun.”

Corinne’s story starts back in Wolverhampton, where she lived with her family until the age of 13. Then her parents took the bold move to relocate to Newquay: “We’d come down on holiday and they saw the lifestyle children had here, always on the beach and with so much freedom. They wanted that for me and my brother Arron, so we moved to Cornwall.

“I had always been a very active child, but when I lived in the Midlands I was really

into dancing. My dream was to be a backing dancer on Top Of The Pops – I was doing eve-rything from ballet to contemporary dance.”

But when Corinne found herself living just yards away from Newquay’s Tolcarne Beach, all that changed: “My brother, who is

now 25, and I would go to the beach every day after school. He took to surfing straight away and is now a professional beach life-guard.

“For me, actually learning to stand up and surf was a more gradual process. I was cautious and really quite afraid of the big waves. It took me a long time to start paddling out through the white water at the edge to ride on the green waves. I needed lessons and a lot of encouragement, but I got there in the end.”

Indeed, at secondary school (Newquay Treviglas) Corinne was able to do a Leisure and Tourism course that had been specially tailored to the surfing industry: “We studied

‘I’m passionate about surfing.

My aim is to encourage

others, especially

women, to give it a go’ [[

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CorinneEvans_June28.indd 17 24/06/2015 11:32:11

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business, marketing and social media, all the practical and economic sides of surfing. It was a fantastic course and really helped me to get where I am today.”

After school, Corinne worked in a surf shop in Newquay, saving up to travel overseas to surf hotspots such as Barbados, Indone-sia and Australia during the quiet winter season. “While I was overseas, I was surfing three times a day and really gained in confidence,” she remembers. “I always had strong legs and a good core muscles from all the danc-ing I did when I was a kid. But now I got stronger and much more con-fident in the water. I’ll never be an adrena-line junkie or competitive – for me surfing is about having fun. But when I came home, I found it really difficult to settle back into

working in the shop – I wanted to be in the water!”

Corinne’s healthy appearance and unde-niable prettiness led her to be spotted as a

surf model, and soon she was able to give up the shop job and become a freelance model. “People do talk a lot about the fact that girls in bikinis are not the best image for surfing today,” she says. “But the fact is, being a surf model is a cel-ebration of being an athlete, looking healthy and being in great shape. I’m the complete opposite of a skinny, unhealthy catwalk model – I’m strong, I exercise and I love my sport.

And that is something to celebrate. I like to think I’m a very positive role model for girls and young women.”

Indeed, soon afterwards in 2010 Corinne started to run women-only surfing work-

‘I’m the complete

opposite of a skinny catwalk

model – I’m strong’ [[

CorinneEvans_June28.indd 18 24/06/2015 11:32:38

19

Interview

CorinneEvans_June28.indd 19 24/06/2015 11:33:09

20

Interview

shops. Today, her diary is packed with dates on her Surf Tour, which moves from beach to beach around the shores of the South West and Wales from June to October. “It’s a lovely thing to be doing, really upbeat and positive for all the women who come along and have a go,” she says. “I charge £50 for the day, and as well as surf lessons, we also use special environmentally-friendly nail varnish to have manicures, and everyone goes away with a goodie bag of surf products.” She is also leading a women-only surf tour to The Maldives in Sep-tember: “which should be fabulous,” she says.

And her personal life is on the up too. Two years ago, Corinne started living with fellow surfer, Ben Jones. Ben is a brand manager for Newquay’s Toy Factory Surf-boards. “Ben’s from Somerset and, like me, he came to surf-ing a bit late in life, compared to the New-quay locals who are all surfing from the age of two,” she says. “Perhaps that’s why we’re both so keen now. Ben really encourages me to get out there. Even if it’s raining or cold, he will be calling me up from work, saying ‘The surf’s great, come on down’. He is defi-nitely a good influence.”

The pair will be getting married next May, in Cornwall. “Ben took me on a snowboard-ing holiday this New Year, as a Christmas

present, and then proposed to me on top of a mountain,” says Corinne. “It was totally unexpected and I was so surprised, but abso-lutely delighted. We’re so looking forward to getting married and starting a family before too long.”

All in all, says Corinne, her parents’ deci-sion to move to Cornwall was “the best thing ever”. “My brother now has a great career as a lifeguard, and my mum too has become in-

volved in the surf industry. She is an artist and she now paints the designs on surfboards.”

Sadly, in 2011 Corinne’s father died suddenly: “I don’t like to talk about it too much publically,” she says. “It was a very sad time for all of us.

“But there is no doubt that the decision he and my mum took to move us down here was life-changing in a wonder-ful way. I can’t see myself ever leaving Cornwall. There is so

much going on and surfing here is so vibrant and exciting right now.

“But no matter how businesslike or pro-fessional I am around my surfing career, I still get in the water and feel that soulfulness, that connection with nature and the ocean. That is what surfing has always been about, and for me it always will be.”For details of Corinne’s forthcoming surf work-shops and her all-female surf festival, visit www.corinneevans.com

Lifestyle looksIn 2013 the call came from global surf brand Animal, asking Corinne to be a lifestyle ambassador for their surf fashion range. “It sounds too good to be true but I really do have to go there twice a year and pick out my whole new wardrobe,” she says. “I attend events to represent Animal, always wearing their clothes. I do fashion shoots with them throughout the year.

“I had to sign a contract specifying that I would behave in accordance with their brand ethos – no smoking, and that sort of thing. But they have really clean-living family values, which are totally in tune with how I live my life anyway.”

Corinne is also sponsored by Fourth Boards, and is on her “tenth or maybe eleventh” surf board from them. “I know it sounds really lucky – but every so often I like to try another one, something slightly different. I mostly ride a board around 5 foot 6 to 5 foot 8, and slightly wider than usual, which I find helps me to get onto the waves better.”

‘I get in the water and still feel that soulfulness, that connection with

nature and the ocean’ [[

CorinneEvans_June28.indd 20 24/06/2015 13:30:26

21

interiors22 fashion 30

trends30 get out44

Untitled-5 21 24/06/2015 13:23:59

22

his beautiful Cornish cottage has weathered the storms coming in off the sea for two centuries. With stun-ning views across the Camel estuary

towards Padstow, its interior now reflects that sense of history, with slate, exposed timbers and rough plasterwork walls.

Newly renovated, the result is a light and airy in-terior, with slate passages, limed oak floors and high ceilings. Owner Liz Roberts has furnished the cot-tage thoughtfully, with a mixture of Scandinavian and British antiques to create an unfussy, rustic space. Liz lives in the farmhouse nearby and she and her husband have significantly enlarged the original two-up two-down cottage, being careful to ensure that the ‘joins’ don’t show.

“My husband and I bought the property in 2000, and the cottage had been extended, but in a way we didn’t particularly like. So we took down the exten-sion and rebuilt it, making use of reclaimed slate and timber,” she says. “When we added the extension, we kept it open right though, up two steps into the origi-nal living room so that you have this flow of space and light.

“The bedrooms have got high ceilings, which makes them feel bigger, and when we did the plas-tering in the extension we rounded all the corners, because we didn’t want it to look too new.”

They made changes in the original cottage, too. “We replaced all the Victorian doors which we didn’t like with wooden doors with latches. We took the ceilings out in the bedroom to expose the rafters, so although it is a cottage it is not poky.”

Liz was inspired by the Swedish 19th century pait-ings of Carl Larsson, she says, and worked with an

T

Sarah Pitt discovers a cottage with Scandinavian touches overlooking

the sea at Rock

Scandi style

Interiors_June28.indd 22 24/06/2015 11:35:43

Interiors

23

Slate floors and stripped beams give this cottage a

dash of Nordic style

Interiors_June28.indd 23 24/06/2015 11:36:00

24

For a Scandinavian look, pick up vin-tage items when you see them, and pair them with practical pieces from places like IKEA

STYLE TIP:

Interiors

interior designer on the project. “I’m a bit of a collector,” she says. “It is some-

thing I love doing. Because we bought the house in 2000 – and we didn’t do up the interior until 2008/2009 – I have had time to collect items. When you are buying old things, you can’t buy to order. You might come back with a chair instead of a chest of drawers, but if you see something you love, then you just have to buy it.”

One such fi nd is the substantial stack of tiny drawers, believed to be a 19th century apoth-ecary’s chest, which Liz bought from an antiques

fair in London a few years ago. Then there’s the oil painting of the unknown Georgian gentleman which hangs on the study wall. “I liked the colour of it and the decorative detail on his waistcoat,” she says.

Another fi nd is the seahorse lamp, a striking feature on the windowsill in the sitting room. “I have never seen anything like it before,” Liz says. “It was too good not to buy, a bit of seaside kitsch.”

The Scandinavian look can be seen in the antique grandfather clock in the dining room, the solid circular table and the old-fashioned dresser, and in many of the light fi ttings, such as the enamel pendant lights on either side of the double bed in one bedroom. One of the twin rooms, meanwhile, has an ornately decorated Danish antique chest.

This room has another striking feature in its two end-to-end beds – which could accommodate teenagers or children for a sleepover, and dou-bles up as a sofa during the day. They are topped with vintage Welsh blankets, a nod to Liz’s own childhood on the Gower peninsula.

The interior throughout the house gives a few subtle nods to its seaside setting in the choice of decorative touches like the fi sh woodcut by one of Liz’s favourite artists, Julian Meredith, which

hangs above the roll-top bath in one of the bath-rooms. “His work is fantastic, really beautiful to live with.”

While many of the Scandinavian fl ourishes in the interior come courtesy of antiques shops, Liz is also a big fan of IKEA, which provided the sisal rugs for the bedrooms. “They were £99 each but look a lot more expensive,” she says. Her look for the interior of the house continues to evolve, she says, although all the building work – including the stunning oval swimming pool – is complete.

“Some people like everything to come out of a box but I think the cottage has a nicer feel this way - and I enjoy doing it.” Rent Treverra Cottage: www.perfectstays.co.uk

This newly-renovated Cornish

cottage is now complete with

glamorous oval swimming pool

Interiors_June28.indd 24 24/06/2015 11:36:34

25

Interiors

LOOKAdd some Scandinavian style to your home with these best buys

GET THE

Slate round mirror£100,

www.arthouse.com

Rustic wooden trinket box edged with

gold leaf £12, The Contemporary Home,

www.tch.netGrandmother clock

£229.95, www.melodymaison.co.uk

Lidcombe bedside table £488,www.

sweetpeaandwillow.com

Wooden fish dishes£18, The

Contemporary Home, www.tch.net

Dome pendant lamp£380,

www.in-spaces.com

Interiors_June28.indd 25 24/06/2015 11:37:14

26

ANNE SWITHINBANK

Heaven onearth

Heaven on

Gardens

Devon’s Anne Swithinbank, panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, pays a visit to The Eden Project

his time last year, one of my fi rst pieces for West magazine was based on a visit to The Eden Project, where I’d given a talk as part of their Green Fingers Festival.

Having recently returned from this year’s event, I’m thinking we must be celebrating some kind of anniversary, and indeed The Western Morn-ing News on Sunday turned one on June 22. My recent talk was entitled ‘Grow Something Dif-ferent’ and afterwards I was lucky enough to be given a tour of the 30 acres of pit planting – the outdoor biome if you like, in the company of Lead Outdoor Horticulturist Julie Kendall.

During the last fi fteen years, these landscaped areas have grown and matured. Most ordi-nary gardens have features such as walls and dividing hedges to stop the eye but inside Eden’s old clay pit, there is plenty of perspective. When we start gar-dening, there’s a tendency to buy or cadge single plants of different types which makes for bitty, chaotic plantings. Time wears on, we multiply the survivors and borders benefi t from larger groups and repetition, which become easier on the eye. Here on the slopes, rep-etition is given free rein to great effect.

As Julie and I set off on our tour, we passed a bed of just Anthriscus ‘Raven’s Wing’ (dark-leaved cow parsley) towering over a mass of sedum. This calm restraint is rarely seen in smaller gardens and you’d have to plan some-thing else to rise up later in the summer but I am

determined to limit myself for once and give it a go at home.

Next, there was a bank of English lavender (L.angustifolia) illustrating the commercial use of plants, in this case to produce aromatic oil. Gaps between the soft, mounded bushes revealed soil that looked more like Cornish grit, which proved to be typical for the pit slopes. Originally, 83,000 tons of soil was made for Eden from green waste and grit, with worms added to create struc-ture between soil particles. On the slopes, this

has worn thin, while on level beds, where mulches have stayed put, there is more depth and better moisture retention. Julie and her team of nine gardeners have to choose their plantings accordingly. Lavender loves poor soils and good drainage and so thrives on the slopes.

Drought tolerant plants often have silvery, hairy leaves, to re-fl ect light and protect the leaf surfaces from moisture loss. There is a lovely ‘Silver Stair-case’ where Artemisia, Stachys byzantina (lamb’s ears), santoli-na (cotton lavender) and brachy-

glottis (which used to be senecio) shimmer in the sunshine. This is backed by a saltbush (atriplex) hedge and rising up through all the plants are white-fl owered ornamental onions, their spheri-cal heads of white starry fl owers held aloft on sturdy stalks. I must remember this combination next time I’m asked to recommend plants for a dry, sunny bank!

We passed terraces of barley and hemp and then came across an intriguing section of plant-

T

Originally, 83,000 tons of soil was made for Eden from

green waste and grit, with added

worms [[Gardening_June28.indd 26 24/06/2015 11:52:59

I’ve been trying to grow oleander outdoors and under glass but it doesn’t bloom like those we see on holiday!

Oleander is poisonous, so make sure no pets or children are going to chew it (and if it blooms, don’t stick the flowers in your cocktail!). To produce flower buds, stems need to mature in plenty of sunlight and air. Here, they don’t always receive enough and plants left outdoors are knocked back by cold winters. Pot your plant on into half and half John Innes no 3 and a soilless compost with a little added grit or sharp sand. Keep it under glass for three weeks, then stand it outdoors and feed fortnightly with a well-balanced liquid fertilizer. Hopefully, it will bloom. Prune after flowering, keep frost free during winter and in spring, pot on, root prune or top dress and stand out in June.

27

My outdoor grape vine starts off well but eventually becomes a tangle, gets mildew and produces grapes but they tend to rot before we can eat them.

Whether inside or out, these vines need training and stopping to look good, thrive in restricted space and produce edible fruit. The cordon system is a good one. You train one or more main, usually vertical stems and in winter, side shoots are pruned back to short spurs along their length. In spring, they sprout and are stopped two leaves past the flower clusters. Subsequent shoots are stopped after one leaf. The fruit clusters are thinned to maybe two per lateral. You can still stop lateral growths and thin down the number of bunches now. More light and air and fewer fruits improves the vine all over.

Q

Question time with AnneWest reader queries answered by Anne Swithinbank

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

This week’s gardening tipsAnne’s advice for your garden

Q

• Lay aside time to gather crops like broad beans, new potatoes, peas and herbs and deliver them to your kitchen. Present them in a trug as though you were a head gardener, then pretend you are chief cook and enjoy podding and cooking them.

• When crops such as early summer cauliflowers have finished, pull up stumps, add a mulch of well-rotted compost to the soil or container and plant in some lettuce or Swiss chard.

• Dead heading is regular task to keep the garden fresh, Roses, sweet peas, lupins and wilder plants like geraniums and tiarella all benefit from a tidy up.

• When a strawberry bed has grown tired, grub up plants when they’ve finished. Dispose of them away from the garden to prevent recycling diseases. Dig the bed over or top dress for other crops and plan a new strawberry bed on different soil.

Go shoppingfor plants at shows, fairs or nurseries and challenge yourself by growing something different. I’m planting three named cultivars of delphinium – tricky to grow well.

Feedtomatoes with high potash tomato feed every three weeks or so.

ing reflecting the American prairie, ‘probably around Chicago’ thought Julie. On my visit, wild white indigo (baptisia alba), white-flowered camassia (quamash) and blue-flowered trades-cantias stood out but plenty more plants were sidling up to bloom later. Back at home, I looked up the native flora and was amazed to see how many of our common garden plants (Echinacea, coreopsis and liatris for example) come from this region and from shadier parts oak-leaved hy-drangea (H.quercifolia), blood root and trilliums.

Towards the rim of the pit, a stand of Puya alp-estris and P.chilensis was in full bloom, reaching 2.4m/8ft. These Chilean natives are an amazing sight and can take a decade to flower from seed. The former has flowers of jewel-like blue-green but Puya chilensis has yellow flowers and is known as the sheep-eating plant. Apparently, the hapless creatures entangle themselves in its spiny leaves, die of starvation, rot down and feed the plants. Now that’s what I call growing some-thing different!

Gardening_June28.indd 27 24/06/2015 11:53:22

Paul & Joe’s frosted liquid eyeshadows are shot through with moisturising serum and dry down to a sheeny metallic � nish. Nice. £16 each at BeautyBay.com

Unlock your inner goddess - or treat her to a bath, at least. Ylang-ylang and jasmine add a lingering and heady fragrance to this indulgent elixir. £20 www.quintessentiallyenglish.co.uk

Eye-eye

Soak

28

Beauty

Tried& tested

We present the best beauty cheats and treats, all trialled by West magazine’s Catherine Barnes,with help from daughter Tilly, 18

BRONZE IT

IT’S A STEAL

Make a diary date with Elemis: The brand will be o� ering six of its Botanicals face

and body bestsellers for 24 hours on QVC from midnight July 26 - RRP £180, yours for ‘under £55’ (price to be announced live on TV) for one day only, with this pretty tote

included.

Enhance your sunkissed glow - or fake it! Baked Highlighter £6.99 www.newlook.com

A year-long study suggests that No 7’s Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Serum, £24.95 (www.boots.com) delivers anti-wrinkle results that improve over time, rather than plateauing a� er six months.

ProtectMurad Rapid Collagen Infusion (£65; www.

murad.co.uk), is formulated to deliver micronised collagen amino acids where most

serums can’t reach. Plus, for every special edition sold, £10 will go to youth charity The

Prince’s Trust.

SKIN SUPPORT

Beauty_June28.indd 28 24/06/2015 11:49:36

Revlon has whipped up a trio of new ColorBurst lip butters. Try Red Velvet, Brown Sugar and Sugar Plum, £7.99 each (www.boots.com) for vibrant colour in a vanilla-scented balm.

PATISSERIE POUT

29

the review

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

Sugar may be enemy number one on the nutrition front but in the beauty world, things are sweeter than ever. Katie Wright picks from this season’s confectionery-inspired cosmetics

Sweet stu�

Only Fingers + Toes are a luxury treat for manicure obsessives - prices start at £16 for one and £42 for a trio from its Candyland collection. Or invest in the works for £75 (www.only  ngersandtoes.com)

Rimmel’s drawn been inspired by the iconic Love Heart sweets, right down to the chalky texture of its Sweetie Heart Matte Pastel Nail Colour Collection, £4.49 each (www.rimmellondon.com). Grab a nail art pen and add some slogans of your own!

Floral oils including evening primrose star� ower and calendula lavender so� en skin, while violet, mandarin oil, mint are among the fragrant notes in Kenneth Turner’s Blue Tangerine Hand Lotion (£18) www.kennethturner.com

It’s a scent that already falls � rmly in the ‘gourmand’ category, but the latest edition of Thierry Mugler’s Angel has gone into olfactory overdrive. With notes of caramelized meringue layered over the vanilla and red berry base, Eau Sucree, £45 (www.houseo� raser.co.uk), is the perfume version of a raspberry pavlova.

Nail it!

PRETTY THING

Load your lids with these pretty eyeshadows from Too Faced’s latest palette. Sugar Pop Collection, £32 at www.debenhams.com.

BOUQUET IN A BOTTLE

Our pretty model’s wearing B. Sweet’s Or-angeboom lippy. Check out its other candy-bright lipsticks (Sherbet Dip and Lollipop), all £7.99 each at www.superdrug.com.

EAU DE-LICIOUS

Loving These Heart Lacquers

Beauty_June28.indd 29 24/06/2015 11:51:49

30

Tennis whites

ake your inspiration from the tennis court in these summer whites for work and play this summer, as we all go

Wimbledon crazy once again. What could be cuter than these ten-nis-inspired charms from Links of London. Or why not go for a pretty white dress with white strappy san-dals to help you stay cool in the heat? We’re loving La Redoute’s pretty swing frock, a surefi re ace if you ask us.

T

It’s game, set and match when you wear all white

Wimbledon charms£45 each Links of London

M&S Collection watch £29 Marks & Spencer

Sleeveless overlay dress£55 Miss Selfridge

Mason dress£310 www.oxygenboutique.com

Fashion_June28.indd 30 24/06/2015 12:00:56

31

Fashion

Limited Edition straw visor,£10 Marks & Spencer

Sleeveless blouse,£39 JD Williams

Tennis shoes,£25 River Island

White tote£29 Miss Selfridge

White sandals £59 Dune

Crepe tennis skirt £32

Simply Be

Sunglasses £10River Island

White swing dress£49 La Redoute

Fashion_June28.indd 31 24/06/2015 12:02:16

e all know the feeling. Day upon day of glorious summer sunshine. You get carefree. You leave the house in sandals and coatless, sunnies even take up a permanent perch on your

face. Then, one day, you emerge outside and your mirrored lenses are instantly battered by ruth-less raindrops and your fl oatiest summer dress is soaked in mere seconds. Your plans to sip elder-fl ower in the sunshine are foiled.

Back inside you go. But what to throw on? It is still summer, after all. Does one really need to reach into the back of the cupboard and pull out the trusty black trousers, charcoal jumper and inky leather jacket combo. Knowing my luck, chances are it will then clear up just in time to ensure I am slowly pressure cooked on the train home. Dilem-na. Followed swiftly by joy. It would appear I have found a gap in my wardrobe that needs fi lling. Which equals justifi ed shopping!

A few years ago I would have headed straight to the coloured denim section. Remember the red jeans craze? I loved it. Haven’t worn them in months though. Some trends aren’t built to last. That’s why these days I tend to shop with the bigger picture in mind. These trousers in the palest of taupes are sure to earn their keep. The panelling detail gives them a tailored and sophisticated edge while the beach sand hue keeps the look fresh and season appropriate.

The broderie anglaise top is another absolute win. Think of it as your secret weapon against

the unpredictable mercury. Cool, light and ventilated means that if the temperature sneaks back into the twenties, all you have to do is whip off your jacket, move from your window seat ( in my case at Chandos Deli in Princesshay) to one of the outside bistro tables, and you are ready to bask. You

need never skip a beat.Speaking of the jacket now draped on the back

of the chair, have you ever owned something so buttery and meltingly soft you are forced to hold it to your cheek and whisper ‘It’s soooo soooffft’ before proffering it out to your nearest compan-ion and offering them some cheek time too. I

hadn’t even left the shop and I had cuddled this beautiful toffee coloured specimen so much that I felt a moral obligation to buy it. I’m principled like that.

Visions of it pared with everything else I own defi nitely fuelled these principles. Every summer wardrobe needs a splash of leather. It is a fabric that is even right at home over an evening dress, or your best wedding guest frock. I’ll be mixing it in with my favourite little white lace dress, denim shorts and a Breton striped tee, or a fl oral maxi.

Versatile, chic and timeless. So remember - whatever the weather, don’t forget your leather!All fashion in these pictures is from Princesshay Shopping Centre, Exeter, www.princesshay.co.uk

32

Trend

Have you ever owned something

so buttery and meltingly so� you are forced to hold

it to your cheek and whisper: ‘It’s

sooo sooo� ’?

HOW TO WEAR IT:

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Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod tries the

latest in hide and chic

Summer leather

Jacket, All Saints, Princesshay, £298

Top, All Saints, Princesshay, £98

Jeans, All Saints, Princesshay, £98

Bag, Next, Princesshay, £32

Shoes, Next, Princesshay, £28

Necklace, Next, Princesshay, £12

Summer_Leather_June28.indd 32 24/06/2015 14:15:22

33

GET THE

look

NEXT fringed jacket £55

HOBBS Elin Sandals £115

MISS SELFRIDGE camel leather mini

skirt £75

NEW LOOK wide fit black leather fringed

block heel £27.99

NEXT gladiator sandal £65

HOBBS Brampton satchel £119

NEXT biker jacket £60

Summer_Leather_June28.indd 33 24/06/2015 14:13:46

34

+

£30 JOY (www.joythestore.co.uk)

£17.50 White Stuff

£20 Paperchase

£16 Tu at Sainsbury’s

£49 Accessorize

£15 Very

The editYour straight line to style: next stop, the beach

£10 The Edinburgh Woollen Mill

+

£15 Accessorize

+ + +

+

£49 La Redoute

Shop

Grid_Ally_June28.indd 34 24/06/2015 12:11:02

3535

Food

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

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, including the grated apple, and give them a good stir to combine them.

Store the mixture in the fridge overnight to allow the oats, seeds and apple to soak up all the juici-ness.

The next morning, the bircher muesli is ready to eat. I like to present mine in two halves of a coconut shell, cracked open.

Crack your coconut – don’t let the water go to waste, I pretend to be in the Caribbean and slurp it up as it is.

Fill both halves of your coconut with the mix-ture, then it is ready to eat!

Method:

@AKitchenStories

Oats, the main ingredient, are packed with avour and essential nutrients which have been shown to help lower high blood cholesterol. I use whole oats, which are a particularly good source of � bre and essential trace elements. Raw oats also contain phytic acid, an essential nutrient which can be destroyed by the steam process used to create quick oats.

Bircher muesli is soaked overnight to achieve a chew-ier consistency, which makes this nutrient-dense muesli easier for your body to absorb.

You will need: (for two servings)1 cup almond milk ½ cup gluten free oats½ tbsp sultanas½ tbsp goji berries½ tbsp sunfl ower seeds1.2 tbsp pumpkin seeds½ tbsp chia seeds½ tsp cinnamon1 whole green apple, grated 1 tbsp of powdered blueberry from Arctic Power Berries (www.arcticpowerberries.com)

Ally says: Today’s shop-bought muesli o� en has added salt and sugar, both of which are unnecessary to provide a great taste. This delicious recipe for bircher muesli – that’s muesli that has been soaked overnight, originally invented by a Swiss doctor for his patients – has no salt or sugar added. The sweetness comes instead from fresh apple and a few spoonfuls of a fabulous dried blueberry powder from Finland, which I really recommend.

ally mac’s

CrackingCoconuts� lled with bircher muesli

Grid_Ally_June28.indd 35 24/06/2015 13:33:09

36

Wellbeing

the boost

Life just got better. We’ve handpicked the latest wellness trends,

best-body secrets and expert advice to help you be your

best self, everyday

GO FOR IT,girls!

A study British Journal of Nutrition has revealed that 80% of us are not eating a healthy level of wholegrains. Weightloss expert Doctor Sally Norton says that demonising carbs could be the reason one in � ve people ditch the good stu� altogether. Wholegrains contain all

three parts of a kernel containing lots of essential nutrients including antioxidants, B vitamins, protein, minerals, healthy fats and � bre. How

much should you be eating daily? “The minimum recommendation is 48g,” says Sally. “This equates to around three slices of wholemeal

bread, or a bowl of porridge (or wholegrain breakfast cereal) plus a slice of wholemeal toast. Alternatively, add a portion of whole grain

rice/pasta/quinoa or other whole grains.”

Michelle Keegan has the hair most women want. A survey’s revealed 27% of us covet the former Corrie actress’s crowning glory. Michelle - who

tied the knot with TOWIE’s Mark Wright last month and honeymooned in the Maldives and Dubai - was followed in the hair hero stakes by Twiggy (14%) and Beyonce (12%). Long-haired

celebs dominated the list, with Miley Cyrus and her platinum bob winning in the cropped camp,

taking 3% of the vote, organised by the health supplement people Viviscal.

SHINE LIKE MICHELLE

GET YOUR OATS

There’s still time to sign up for Barnstaple’s 5k Race for Life, which takes place on July 5. The girls (and boys if aged under 13) event raises money for

Cancer Research UK and costs £14.99 (over 16s) to take part. Wear pink and a smile and have fun putting your best foot forward. More details and

register at www.raceforlife.cancerresearchuk.org

Wellbeing_June28.indd 36 24/06/2015 12:15:17

37

SoothingIrritable skin? Drink green tea! Quercetin,

naturally found in green tea, red grapes and cranberries, can act as a natural

antihistamine. “If your skin condition is caused by an underlying allergy, this could help,” says Simon Bandy of nutri-

tional supplements company, Veganicity.

Keen outdoor swimmer? The Outdoor Swimming Society has three Westcountry diary dates coming up: � rst is the 6k

Bantham Swoosh next Sunday (July 5) and then there are 10k River Dart swims on September 5 and 6. You need to

book in advance to take part – do this and check out other swims in inspirational wild locations at www.outdoor-

swimmingsociety.com

WILD WATER

What’s coming up? Tweet us your wellbeing diary dates @WMNWest or email westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk

Would you cheat your way to a toned tum like Chloe Madeley’s? Chloe - who has a family home

in Cornwall - put hours in the gym for her fabu-lous abs. But it would seem increasing numbers

of us are tempted to take shortcuts, according to website WhatClinic.com. It’s seen a 264%

increase in people enquiring about abdomino-plasty and lipoabdominoplasty ops over the past six months. Both involve the removal of

excess skin and fat, while the latter also includes liposuction. The procedures cost from £5,000

and £6,000 and can take between three and six months to recover from.

HOW WOULD YOU

WORK IT?

Wellbeing_June28.indd 37 24/06/2015 12:18:55

Wellbeing

Stay skin safeHow to prevent age spots forming

Avoid sun exposure, especially between the hours 11am-3pm when the sun’s rays are the most intense

Wear sunscreen daily. This should be a minimum of SPF 30

Use the right sunscreen. Make sure yours contains both UVA and UVB protection

Wearing protective clothing, eg long-sleeved clothes and a hat

I have brown spots and patches on my face that seem to get worse in the summertime. How are they caused and how can I get rid of

them to make them look less visible? PK, Newquay

Dr Pradnya Apte says: These brown patches are caused by a variety of reasons that include sun exposure and hormone changes. They can also be

hyperpigmentation caused by certain aesthetic treatments

such as Intense Pulsed Light (a hair removal treatment) and can particularly affect darker skins. Certain chemical peels can also cause pigmentation post treatment if the skin is not properly prepared prior to having the peel.The main cause of brown spots or pigmentation, however, is sun exposure. Age spots are caused by an excessive production of melanin. You are likely to develop brown spots or pigmentation in skin that is exposed to UV radiation. They also develop as the skin ages. Areas of your skin exposed to the sun will include the face, back of hands, shoulders and forearms.A brownish patch that develops on the face after sun exposure is called melasma and it is due to overproduction of melanin. There is also a genetic disposition to this type of skin pigmentation. Known triggers for melasma

Qinclude sun exposure and pregnancy (though the melasma can fade after the birth). Hormone treatments such as the contraceptive pill and HRT are also a factor in about 25% of women. Some medications can cause a phototoxic reaction that triggers melasma. Hypothryoidism can also be a causative factor.UV exposure deepens the pigmentation because it activates the melanocytes to produce more melanin. It is more common in women than men and its appearance can be quite distressing to the individual. Common areas affected by this condition are forehead, cheeks and the nose. Treatments are now available for treating pigmentation in the skin. These will include skin lightening agents. Be aware that some contain Hydroquinone, which has to be carefully controlled by a qualifi ed medical aesthetic practitioner There are other skin lightening topical treatments available that do not contain hydroquinone and these are my preferred choice. Kojic Acid as part of a skincare treatment is well known to reduce pigmentation as well. Not all cases of pigmentation can be treated with topical agents so chemical peels, microdermabrasion or microneedling (Dermaroller) may be used for more stubborn cases. Pigmentation can also be treated with laser but this should be approached with caution

in darker skins too, as the pigmentation can be made worse post-treatment. My advice is that any medication to treat pigmentation should be taken under advice in a Medical Aesthetic Clinic as it is a very diffi cult condition to treat.

Dr Pradnya Apte offers skin lightening treatments and skincare in her Exeter clinic to reduce pigmentation. All skin consultations are free. Visit www.revitalise-rejuvenate.co.uk for more details

Expert advice for treating age spots

38

Sun-safe skincare

West readers can receive 10% o� all skincare and treatments at Dr Pradnya Apte’s Revitalise-Rejuvenate Clinic in Exeter. Quote ‘West’ when making an appointment on 01392 426285

SPECIAL OFFER

Wellbeing_Stars_June28.indd 38 24/06/2015 12:23:35

39

Stars

Your starsby Cassandra Nye

LEO (July 23 - August 23)Some hiccups with fi nances are soon overcome by a strong feeling of wellbe-

ing. This has more than a little to do with your romantic inclinations, which are super-strong this week! You see romance everywhere, including where you work.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23)With the planets driving you ahead,

there is much that can be done. On the other hand, others may fi nd you over-ambitious and pushy. Well, you can’t hope to please every-one, can you?

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23)A bout of impatience with others could cause you to speak out of turn. This is

not like you at all, Libra, and quite shock-ing to others. Try to have something else to do when this feeling comes. Going and getting on with something different is the best policy.

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22)When someone reveals their feelings it puts you on the back foot. What should

your reaction be? Play for time as you fi gure it all out. Generally you feel at home in your present situation but, as always, you like to see an even fl ow of possibilities.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21)A real sense of frustration that some-thing is not being done fast enough for

you could set in. If you are going to make a complaint, then get it over and done with. However, choose your words carefully so as not to make a big upset.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20)Getting yourself out of a rut or awk-ward situation is easy. Surely there is

some business that means you need to make a trip? This can be as short as a day or as long as a week but solves many dilemmas. Bits and pieces of work seem to be making the most money. This is fi ne.

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19)Someone is out to impress and care for your needs and it really makes you sit

up and take notice this week. A one-to-one relationship seems right up your street at the moment.

PISCES (February 20 - March 20)The usual tricky people and frustrating moments are scattered through this week.

Look to relax more, get out and about and get stuck into that healthy diet. What you may fi nd boring now gives you results in a few months.

ARIES (March 21 - April 20)Prepare for a mixture of fun and fi nanc-es this week. Perhaps you will make

some cash from a hobby, or it could be that you pick up a money-making idea while taking a break. Someone who made a promise may wish to take it back but fi nd it diffi cult. Look out for strange behaviour from someone close.

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21)The tendency to only believe what is front of you could lead to a missed

opportunity this week. Be prepared to use your imagination and accept some ideas, at least initially, on face value. Someone close may be proving a problem when dealing with a move or new approach. First you have to win them over.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21)Are you feeling strong and demanding? This is, indeed, a week to get the ball

rolling in the direction of your goals. Some patience is needed but don’t let others hold you up. Travel shows signs of success and the chance of meeting someone important. Being a bit ‘pushy’ in general shows that you mean business.

Katherine Jenkins

This week’s sign: Happy birthday to...Cancers are maternal, domestic and love to nurture. Traditions are upheld with great zest in a Cancer’s household, since these folk prize family history. They’re patriotic, waving the � ag whenever possible, as Kath-erine Jenkins has done for the armed forces.

born June 29, 1980The nation’s sweetheart Katherine Jenkins celebrates her 35th birthday tomorrow. She has a baby on the way in the autumn with artist husband Andrew Levitas. It’s already been a busy year for the Welsh mezzo-soprano. She’s been touring on the back of her new Home Sweet Home album and was singing with tenor Jose Carreras in concert in Ireland last week. Femininity and a sweetly-old fashioned way are among the typical traits of the alluring Can-cerian woman, who seek loyalty in equal meas-ure as love. Happily her husband Andrew’s a Virgo, known for their caring dependability, as well as a practical nature.

CANCER (June 22 - July 22)As career and work take a back seat this week, your thoughts turn to

romance and nest building. A certain amount of fl irting comes naturally. This does bring a stronger response from others. Even so, be careful what you wish for in this direction. Someone may be feeling just as dynamic as you are! A change of pace brings more leisure time.

Wellbeing_Stars_June28.indd 39 24/06/2015 12:35:27

Isabel AshdownIsabel Ashdown is an award-winning novelist, teacher and volunteer with Pets as Therapy. She lives in West Sussex with her carpenter husband Colin and their two children. She and her family are regular visitors to the Westcountry. Her latest novel, Flight, is set on the north Cornwall coast.

40

My favourite...

Walk: I’ve got two dogs – Charlie the border terrier and Leonard the dachshund – so walk-ing forms an important part of my life. The coastal walk from Treyarnon Bay to Porthcoth-an is a favourite, with dramatic rocky views out to sea on one side, edging onto gentle farmland on the other. Brightly coloured toadfl ax and bell heather cling to the grassy banks, and skylarks abound. There is a tremendous sense of calm, even when the sea is at its most turbu-lent. This is the location that fi rst inspired me to set my new novel Flight on the north coast of Cornwall – it felt like a place a person in turmoil might run to, a place of peace.

Beach: Taking the steep cliff staircase down at Carnewas and Bedruthan is well worth the effort (me with a Leonard the sausage dog under one arm). The reward is sweeping sandy beaches, cool caves and shimmering rock pools. It’s a beautiful, unspoiled stretch of beach – but you need to time your visit right to avoid get-ting cut off by the tide!

Festival: I was recently part of the Fowey Fes-tival of Words and Music. My event took place in a sea view room of the Fowey Hotel – we had a fabulous audience of devoted book lovers and a harbour backdrop to take the breath away. What a beautiful place Fowey is!

My Secret Westcountry

Laid-Back Coffee

Isobel’s two dogs

MSW_June28.indd 40 24/06/2015 12:29:48

Activity: I love a day trip to St Ives, parking fi rst at Lelant Saltings and taking the short coastal train into town. The sea views from the train are spectacular, and my family and I usually manage to fi t in a visit to Tate St Ives, a wander around the cobbled streets and shops, and perhaps a bite of lunch at one of the many pubs or cafes looking out across the bay.

Tipple: For a delicious coffee you can’t beat the Laid-Back Coffee Co, a lovely family-run business serving hot drinks at Mawgan Porth beach from the back of Bert the Morris Minor. My husband Colin (a beer connoisseur) also has lots of good things to say about St Austell brewery, his favourite tipple being Proper Job.

Restaurant: I love the Ivy House, a small independent restaurant in Saint Merryn. When Colin and I fi rst discovered it, the food was divine, and the hosts so warm and welcom-ing that we booked for a second meal the next night, as we paid for the fi rst.

Way to relax: In my day-to-day life I’m not too good at stopping still and relaxing. When I’m on holiday, however, I’m very good at it. If the sun’s shining, all I want to do is lie on the beach and read – while Colin and the kids surf between the waves, and the dogs snooze nearby in the shade of a rockpool. That’s happiness!

Treat: On holiday at Treyarnon Bay, north Cornwall, we would trek up from the beach for our daily ice cream from Rose’s – a tiny 1973 touring caravan renovated for the purpose. My 13-year-old was on a mission to try every fl avour – he failed, so I’m pleased to say we will have to return.

Memory: Walking down to Treyarnon Bay for the fi rst time, to discover the beach and rock pools bathed in the orange glow of a setting sun – and in that moment realising that Flight would be set there. It was a writer’s gift.

41

People

Isabel’s Cornish-set novel Flight is out now (£7.99 Myriad Editions). Visit www. isabelash down.com

The harbour at St Ives

Isabel in north Cornwall

MSW_June28.indd 41 24/06/2015 12:31:55

42

Enjoy

DartmoorA WEEKEND ON...

artmoor has always been known for its landscape of stunning views, ancient culture and picturesque vil-lages. Whether you’re after camp-ing, climbing or simply leisurely

dog walks, the National Park has something to offer for everyone and there are many inspir-ing places to visit on your stay, as Abbie Bray discovers.

D

Stay: After a walk on the moor, the most luxurious place to stay is Bovey Castle (www.boveycastle.com). This iconic and beautiful hotel has wonderful views of the National Park from the 63 individually designed bedrooms in the handsome manor house, and offers good food, lots of on-site activities and a luxury spa.

Eat and drink: There are many quaint village pubs on Dartmoor to choose from. Award winning local The Bridford Inn serves a combination of homemade classic pub favourites, with 15 real ciders and scrumpies to try. But if you don’t fancy travelling far then at Bovey Castle you are spoilt for choice: the South Terrace is the perfect spot for afternoon tea, so you can enjoy the beautiful views of the entire estate while enjoying homemade scones and cakes. The Great Western restaurant offers fi ne dining with specialities including Brixham crab, line-caught mackerel and smoked sirloin of Devon red ruby beef.

Do: Aside from the simple pleasures of a stroll (or hike) across the moor, if you are looking for extra adrenaline and adventure then try your hand at archery and air rifl e shooting, both on offer at Bovey Castle. You can learn how to use a recurve bow or have a shot at a range of targets (with safety instructions, of course!). If you would prefer some gentler fun, then with the guidance of Bovey Castle’s mixologists you can learn the art of cocktail making, and create some of the world’s most famous cocktails. Or, of course, you can invent your own.

Treat: Try a luxurious treatment at the Spa at Bovey Castle. The current treatment of the month is a back, neck and shoulder massage using Omega-rich products. The price is £80 for a 50 minute treatment, to book call 0844 474 0080.

Visit: The Miniature Pony Centre (www.miniatureponycentre.com) at North Bovey is home to the cutest ponies. There are lots of free daily activities, children’s pony rides and the chance to meet the miniature ponies and their other farmyard friends. Also on the anmial theme, Dartmoor Zoo at Sparkwell (www.dartmoorzoo.org.uk) was the inspiration for Hollywood fi lm We Bought A Zoo starring Matt Damon and has cheetahs, lions, tigers and bears. Well worth a visit.

Enjoy Dartmoor, above, then relax in stately luxury at Bovey Castle. Above right: The

Miniature Pony Centre

A weekend in June28.indd 42 24/06/2015 12:50:03

43

West o� erWest readers can enjoy a two night stay at Bovey Castle from just £250 per person, which includes breakfast and dinner in both the Great Western Restaurant and Smith’s Brasserie. To book this o­ er call 01647 445007 and quote ‘West Magazine’ – terms and conditions apply.

A weekend in June28.indd 43 24/06/2015 12:51:15

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

f all the seashore plants there is one that is available in such abundance that it is often overlooked. It’s quite a drab-looking plant and has a very short season - now and for the next

week or two until it fl owers (though the earlier spring growth of new leaves are a little mild they are also very good). Aside from that, it tastes pretty dull. It’s one of those seasonal tastes that is really only worthwhile when at its best.

Beyond those times sea purslane becomes more of a statement on the plate, a little voice saying: ‘Look, see how clever I am, I can fi nd wild plants that are edible!’. When you’re looking for wild food, make sure the keen hunt for knowl-edge doesn’t overrule the whole point of the ex-ercise: fl avour.

Right now, this silver-looking plant with elliptical, succulent leaves works excellently with all sorts of foods. Besides the obvious fi sh I love it with lamb (and rabbit) where it adds that salt-marshy tang to the rich, earthiness of the meat. I never cook it - though others do. A brief yet thorough wash in clean cold water is usually

enough to render it clean and crispy. I then pick the leaves off the woody stems just before placing them on the dish. Stripping them from the stalks earlier seems to lessen the freshness of the leaves. Left on the stalks and placed in an air-tight tub with a little damp kitchen towel in the fridge it will not noticeably change in terms of freshness for several days.

You can fi nd this little wonder in great abundance along estuary edges and salt marshes all around our coastline, both north and south. Its scientifi c name is Halimione Portulacoides. For those of you who are interested, it is often described as being ‘fl ooded’ at high tide and, while this certainly can be true, I have found this only to be the case on the larger spring tide. Even then, not all of the plant is submerged, making it very easily accessible to the most poorly planned of foraging visits to the coast.

But as I said, it is only good to eat in early summer until the fl ower heads start to form. As ever, be careful for your own safety as you forage and seek permission from the land owner where necessary.

Ingredient of the Week

Sea purslane with Tim Maddams

44

O

Sea food specialsAlthough sea purslane has grown in popularity in recent times I think the main reason it’s been a bit of a Cinderella in the forag-ing world is that its season coin-cides with the short but explosive season of the marsh samphire (Salacornia), which is so dearly loved by chefs across the land.

If you go out any time in the next few weeks to the salt marshes and estuary sides of our region, you are likely to fi nd both, growing within inches of each other. The samphire is green and vibrant with emerald-like succulence. Sea purslane is dowdy grey-green and silver. It’s not hard to see why the one is world-renowned and the other often disregarded.

Incidentally, this all means that one of the best wild food dishes ever is bang in season right now. Try samphire with sea purslane and the wild mush-room known as chicken of the woods. Delicious.

@TimGreenSauce

TIMBEER_JUNE28.indd 44 24/06/2015 12:44:30

Drink

Cra� Beer Co, well known in the capital, is organising the new London Beer carnival from October 1-4 and is gradually revealing the beer list. “Fi� y of the world’s greatest breweries” have been invited to take part, so no wonder they picked two of our   nest from down here, Harbour, in Cornwall, and Wild Beer Co, from Somerset.

Fang revistedI feel a bit red-faced about this one. I was in St Ives for a sni er or two when someone shoved a taster of Black Flag Fang in my direction. It was glorious, clear and hoppy and a session delight… although last week here I’d mentioned disappointment with the brew. The world is now put to rights… I should never have doubted the Black Flag boys.

LONDON BEER CARNIVAL

45

Beer of the week

A new beer came on tap at the Star, Crowlas (declaration of interest: my local), in west

Cornwall recently, and it just had to be a new one from the Penzance Brewing

Co. Pharmakon is deep golden and this 4.5% brew o  ers hints of

nectarine lemon curd with a bittersweet ­ nish.

Darren Norburytalks beer

read this week that Morrissey claimed he had died for nine minutes. That’s nothing, as anyone who saw my one and only attempt at

stand-up comedy in 1984 would confi rm.I was reminded of my short-lived

career treading the boards (I clearly should have been cleaning them) when I decided to upload my fi rst video online recently. It didn’t go well, although it did improve once I’d roped in my teenage son as director. As with

anything techie, it always helps to have a teenager to call upon.Anyway, 25 takes in, I’d fi nally got it

right and developed a new-found respect for those vloggers who do this day in and day

out. It’s worth getting on YouTube to look at some when you tire of Hilarious Things Cats Do.

The doyen of British beer vlogging is a guy from South Wales called Simon Martin with his Real Ale, Craft Beer channel. In fi ve years he has built an audience of more than 10,000 subscribers with his daily reviews of beers from around the world. When I interviewed him for my website, he explained how it had all started when he wanted to fi nd out more about a bottle of Greene King

Hen’s Tooth he had bought from Asda after a hard day’s work as a carpenter. Now he reviews beers from his kitchen and also regularly on location.

Another go-to beer reviewer for me is Rob Derbyshire, who actually lives in Yorkshire (keep up) and vlogs as Hopzine.com (there’s an associated website, too). Rob has one of those astounding palates. Not for him a quick “it’s citrusy and hoppy”. No, he’ll get lemons, but pith rather than juice, perhaps, plus some spice, but specifi cally cardamom, and herbal notes – that’ll be fl at-leaf parsley (not the curly variety).

Is there a Westcountry option, I hear you cry? Look up Mark Elvis Appleford, from Somerset. Many of his reviews are from the sofa or the kitchen, but he does get out on location occasionally with his brother, Neil. There are beers from all over, but with a defi nite Westcountry bias.

I’d love to be able to emulate any of these chaps, but I feel I’m on a steep learning curve for a die-hard print journalist. Look for Beer Today on YouTube to check my stilted progress…

Darren Norbury is editor of beertoday.co.uk @beertoday

I

TIMBEER_JUNE28.indd 45 24/06/2015 12:45:06

46

man and boy

Held to account [[

my life

have always felt tremendous sym-pathy for those grief-stricken rela-tives who try to use the untimely death of their loved ones for the benefit of mankind. We have all

seen and heard them – holding back the tears as they stand on court room steps, perched nervously on TV studio sofas or talking to newspaper reporters – determined that what-ever happened to their wife, sister, husband, daughter or mother should never be repeated.

They are often a force for good. Some set up trusts, raising vast amounts of money, others hit the campaign trail and some even change the law. As I may have mentioned in previ-ous columns, I’m a Liverpool FC fan. For the families of the 96 fans of the club who died at Hillsborough, the pursuit of simple truth has dominated the past quarter of a century, time which should have been spent grieving, not lob-

bying officialdom for answers. It may be encour-aging that the human soul appears so restless in the face of injustice. It is just so sad to see people trying to squeeze some meaning from whatever tragedy has befallen them and their family.

My mother, Nancy, who died in March, could hardly be said to have left this mortal coil much before her time. After all, she was 89 and had been retired for the best part of 25 years. The trips to hospital with the dreaded water infec-tions had become more and more frequent and the hitherto mild symp-toms of Parkinson’s dis-ease were worsening, making it harder for her to be understood.

In keeping with her long-expressed wishes, she stayed in the house she loved almost until the end. In the final weeks of her life, she had four visits a day from carers plus a couple each week from a district nurse, who was treating her skin and guarding against pressure sores. I brought

her home in the New Year after she was nursed back to health in the hospital over Christmas. It was shocking to be called four weeks later and told she had been rushed back to the hospital and was so seriously ill that I really ought to drive up that day.

But what really knocked me sideways

was the reaction of the doctor, who demanded to know who had been looking after her since they last let her go. To be fair, the medical team were right to question how a grade four pres-sure sore – the worst possible – had developed on her sacrum without anyone noticing. The true seriousness of that would not be appar-ent until days later when a doctor told me it

could never heal and would eventually kill her. But what angered the medics was her condition: she dirt under her fingernails and matted hair.

The ward team raised a safeguarding concern over her care which was investigated by Social Services. I went to two meetings and was told last week that the system had indeed failed her. Mum had reported a pain from the sore to the nurse four days before she fell ill and was taken to hospi-tal but it was never followed up. A handwritten note was left but no further investigation was made. Communication was abysmal, it seems. Training had been inadequate; the employee had been spoken to, and so on.

I am yet to receive official confirmation of what I have been told face-to-face. The only question they had for me was what outcome I wanted. Which brings us to a place we none of us want to be, the grieving relative struggling to find a positive. I can’t bring her back, obvi-ously, and I don’t want it to happen again, obvi-ously. But what can I hope for? Better training, improved communication? You wonder if it is merely a symptom of the relentless cuts im-posed on councils, the crisis in elderly care and the chronic state of the NHS.

I have asked for an apology, to start with. Let’s see how that goes.

I went to two meetings and was told the system had, indeed, failed my Mum[ [

I

Phil Goodwin, father of James, five, is demanding an apology

Man&Boy_June28.indd 46 24/06/2015 12:52:53

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