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| Plus, five of the best rosés and a delicious gnocchi casserole |
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A specially curated guide to help you enjoy the next 48 hours (or more) in Bath
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BATH FESTIVAL | FINALE WEEKEND CONFIRMED
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| Festival Finale Weekend on 7–8 August |
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Get ready for a crowd experience because the Bath Festival Finale Weekend 2021 is going ahead, now re-scheduled to the weekend of 7 and 8 August. The weekend will see headliners McFly, Scouting for Girls, Billy Ocean and UB40 joined on the main stage by a strong line-up that includes Fun Lovin’ Criminals and Seth Lakeman. This confirmation comes following the postponement of the finale weekend due to Covid-19 last summer.
Returning stronger than ever after the success in 2020 of their first studio album in ten years, Young Dumb Thrills, McFly will top the bill on the Saturday night, bringing their own brand of festival Happiness to Bath, and they will be supported by Scouting for Girls, who have built their reputation as a party band.
Also playing on Saturday are Irish singer-songwriter Orla Gartland and British/American rising star George Pelham, along with solo artists Lauran Hibberd and Josh Gray and London four-piece outfit Novacub. Dessie Magee with his band, winner of last year’s Bath Introduces competition, and Bath band Luna Lake will take to the Big Top stage.
On Sunday 8 August legendary reggae band UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro headline and ahead of them will be British soul singer Billy Ocean. Acclaimed west country folk musician Seth Lakeman, who last played the Finale Weekend in 2018. Adding to the party atmosphere on the Sunday will be BLOCO B samba troupe from Bristol and New York’s trio Fun Lovin’ Criminals, featuring Bath-based frontman Huey Morgan. Also on the line-up are solo artists Hannah Grace and Casey Lowry, Wiltshire based indie trio Port Erin and grunge influenced Life in Mono fronted by Sarah Clayton.
Bath Festivals’ chief executive Ian Stockley, said: “With all UK adults having been offered the vaccine by the end of July and in line with government guidelines Bath Festivals, in partnership with Orchard Live, is delighted to welcome you all back to Bath Rec for a true celebration with this weekend of live music.”
The Finale Weekend is supported by sponsors Bath Ales, Novia, Bath BID and Agriframes.
Tickets can be purchased from: thebathfestival.org.uk/finale-weekend or Bath Box Office telephone: 01225 463362. Tickets purchased for the original date will be transferred over to the new date. You can buy tickets for one day or for the whole weekend.
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WEEKEND WINE | TOO EARLY FOR ROSÉS?
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| Five that will grow on you |
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Pretty Gorgeous Rosé – Pretty Gorgeous
A delightful and dainty rosé, ideal during the warmer months. Intense lychee and strawberry notes are greeted with hints of violet and good acidity. £8.85
Côtes de Provence – La Vidaubanaise
Classic Provence rosé, and not only because of its distinctive skittle-shape bottle. Packed full of strawberry and peach fruit character, this wine is thirst quenching – its fruit is laced with a fresh citrus acidity, ideally suited to hot summer days. Even better, at this price you won't mind opening a second bottle! £10.95
Las Fincas Rosado – Chivite Family Estates
From Spain, this food-friendly rosé wine was created by Julián Chivite and is made up of a blend of 54% Garnacha and 46% Tempranillo and has been aged on its lees for six months prior to bottling. Featuring an intense nose and very fruity aromas of berry and pomegranate, notes with rose petals at the end. On the palate it is smooth and tasty. £16.95
Rose de Léoube Organic – Château Leoube
This is very much a rosé of elegance rather than power. The delicate aromas reveal scents of honey and soft red fruits. There is an unmistakable scent of mint, evoking the herbs that grow wild around the vineyards. Even the nearby sea seems to have left its mark in the appetising, lightly salty finish. A very complex wine, balanced, fresh and sheer in perfect Provence style. £19.95
Pinot Noir Rosé – Lyme Bay
From England, the Crouch Valley Vineyard is a consistent producer of top-quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A serious Rosé made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes. This wine is a single-vineyard designated bottling and its complex aromas of cherries, rosehip, strawberries and cream, and tight acidity and length, make it a great food wine. £19.95
Explore these and many more at The Great Wine Co
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HEY MAMA | THE GIFTS OF LOVE
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It's Mother's Day on 14 March, so don't forget to order your gifts online in plenty of time. Here are a few ideas to take your fancy, all local companies who need your retail support:
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GET COOKING | A GNOCCHI GEM
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| Recipe by Melissa Blease |
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| Gnocchi, Red Pepper and Spinach Stovetop Casserole |
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Serves 2–3; vegetarian
This speedy, one-pan dish turns store cupboard/back-of-the-fridge ingredients into a satisfying, intensely flavour-laden supper with a complexity that belies the short preparation/cooking time.
Sautéing the gnocchi rather than cooking it in boiling water adds texture and bite to the dish, the mushrooms and spinach add silkiness, the sun-dried tomatoes add an inherently savoury/sweet edge to proceedings and the chilli flakes add a lively little kick. But if you don't have sun-dried tomatoes to hand, use 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes instead, holding back some of the juice in the can for another dish. If you don't like mushrooms, omit them and add another can of white beans instead. And while we're on the subject of making this recipe your very own, add a handful of black olives and a sprinkling of capers while you're heating the dish through and prepare for a full-on Mediterranean flavour party.
Ingredients
1 x 500g pack gnocchi
1 large red onion, peeled and chopped
1 large red pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
200g button mushrooms, preferably chestnut (sliced if large)
200g fresh baby spinach leaves
50g sun-dried tomatoes from a jar, roughly chopped
1 x 400g can white beans (eg, cannellini or butter beans)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
Dried chilli flakes, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to serve
Method
1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan or wok over a medium heat. Tumble the gnocchi into the hot pan, season well, sprinkle with dried chilli flakes to taste and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the gnocchi is golden and slightly crisp. Remove the gnocchi from the pan with a slotted spoon and set to one side.
2. Add a little bit more oil to the pan and sauté the red onion and red pepper until the onion is just turning translucent and the pepper is soft (around 4-5 minutes), adding the crushed garlic for the last minute or so. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 3-5 minutes until soft. Return the gnocchi to the pan and add the sun-dried tomatoes, white beans and spinach. Sprinkle with a little bit of boiling water and cook together, stirring often, until the spinach has wilted and the beans have heated through. Season to taste (you might want to add another smattering of dried chilli flakes) and serve in warm bowls sprinkled with plenty of black pepper and a generous dusting of freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.
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OBJECTS OF DESIRE | BIRTHSTONE OF THE MONTH
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The birthstone for March is aquamarine, the name comes from the Latin for seawater and legend has it that the stone would help calm waves and keep sailors safe at sea. It’s also thought to bring happiness to marriages.
Like emeralds, aquamarine is a colour variety of the mineral Beryl, the best gemstones have good, flawless clarity with a strong blue to greenish hue and can be cut and facetted in many ways by the craftsperson to make the best use of light and brilliance.
As well as many fine designer pieces, bespoke and new creations we found this truly beautiful antique bracelet created by Mallory and dating back to around 1940, it features eight crystal-clear rectangular cut aquamarines (approx 30ct) set a yellow gold bracelet with a box tongue clasp and safety chain.
Search aquamarine at Mallory-Jewellers
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FASHION | THE SUSTAINABLE TRAINER PROJECT
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Whistles launch new project
Whistles introduce The Sustainable Trainer Project, a capsule collection of styles made from sustainable materials. The project sets to redefine new standards from the design concept to the end of the garment's life, marrying sustainable materials with circularity, while deploying predominantly localised supply chains for manufacture.
The range will be available online at whistles.com from March 2021.
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ON THE BOX | THE LATEST RELEASE
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In the trailer for Amy Poehler's Moxie, her character Vivian tells her daughter that before she was a cool mom, all she used to care about was "smashing the patriarchy and burning it all down."
Poehler's second directorial outing follows her cast of fresh-faced teens who, inspired by the rebellious days of Vivan's youth, they take on sexism in their high school — and start a zine. Starring Josephine Langford, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Hadley Robinson.
Watch it on Netflix today
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| Go wild for... wild garlic |
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Spring has sprung, and all manner of seasonal superstars are poised to make their way onto our shopping lists. But don’t allow yourself to get distracted from one of the UK's most overlooked seasonal treasures, growing freely (literally) in a hedgerow near you from now until very early summer.
Wild garlic grows plentifully in and around areas of mature woodland, and is especially abundant around Bath. At first glance, it’s easy to mistake the clusters of tiny white, star-shaped flowers for some variation on snowdrops, but close up, you’ll notice slender, spear-shaped, vivid green leaves and a pungent, garlicky aroma that belies the milder flavour of the plant itself.
Pick the leaves (and the flowers, to use as an interesting garnish) but leave the bulbs alone; they won’t mature for at least three years yet (if at all) – at this stage, their gift to you is a strictly topsoil treat.
Use rinsed raw wild garlic leaves to add a subtle garlicky backdrop to salads , risottos and wilted spring greens, or chop finely and sprinkle over warm pizzas, hot soup, pasta/gnocchi sauces or an omelette. It makes a lovely pesto (processed with olive oil, pine nuts or walnuts and parmesan cheese), loves lamb, is fabulous with creamy mushrooms on toast and has a natural affinity with spring onion mash.
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PREPARE FOUR | WILD GARLIC RECIPES
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| Recipes by Melissa Blease |
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Wild garlic salsa verde
Finely chop 1 small handful of tarragon and 2 small handfuls of flat-leaf parsley. Transfer to a small bowl with approx. 30g wild garlic leaves, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard and 40g small capers from a jar (drained). Season well and add 200ml extra virgin olive oil and 2 tbsp sherry or red wine vinegar. Combine the mixture thoroughly and allow the flavours to 'get to know each other' at room temperature for a couple of hours before serving with roast chicken, grilled fish or pasta dishes.
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Wild garlic mayonnaise
Blanch 100g wild garlic leaves in a pan of heavily salted boiling water for 40 seconds. Drain well and immediately plunge the garlic leaves into iced water to stop the garlic cooking before patting the leaves dry on kitchen paper and roughly chopping. Add the prepared wild garlic to a food processor and, with the motor running, slowly add 450ml rapeseed oil. Blitz for around 1 minute until the oil is a bright, vibrant green colour, pass the mixture through a fine sieve and set to one side. Add 3 egg yolks to the blender (no need to wash the bowl) with 1tbsp English or Dijon mustard and 2 tbsp white wine vinegar. Season and blitz for 1 minute. With the blender running, pour the wild garlic oil into the mix in a thin, steady stream until the mayonnaise starts to thicken up nicely. The mayonnaise (perfect with salads, chicken, steak, sandwiches and fish) will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
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Wild garlic soup
Peel and dice 2 medium-sized potatoes and 1 large onion. Heat 1 generous tbsp butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat until just foaming, add the potatoes and onion to the pan, reduce the heat and cook for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Add 1 litre vegetable stock, bring to the boil and add 4 handfuls (approx. 200g) wild garlic leaves. Simmer for around 3 minutes until the garlic leaves have wilted. Liquidise immediately with a hand-held stick blender, add 100ml double cream, season to taste and heat through before serving in warm bowls... with wild garlic bread, perhaps?
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Wild garlic and white bean dip
Sauté 2 peeled, chopped shallots in a little oil over a medium heat until translucent. Tip into the bowl of a blender with 1 x 400ml can drained butter or cannellini beans, 2 tbsp olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, a sprinkling of cayenne pepper, a couple of tbsp finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese (or vegan substitute) and a generous handful of wild garlic leaves. Season well, and blitz to form a smooth paste. If the mixture seems a little 'claggy', add splashes of boiling water and blitz again until a smooth, creamy consistency is reached. Eat as a straightforward dip, spread thickly on hot buttered toast or dollop on to hot soup to add extra fresh flavour.
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RICHARD WYATT TALKS | NATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
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International Women’s Day on 8 March is a day when Bath’s historic Mayor’s Guides – a team of trained volunteers who show people around our World Heritage city every day – would be commemorating with special walks. Corps Chairwoman, Joy Roberts has confirmed that while they are currently in lockdown, “We hope to be back to celebrate International Women’s Day 2022.” Meanwhile, we remember lots of Bath women from history who have worked hard to improve the lives of all women everywhere.
Each year there is a theme to International Women’s Day. This year it is ‘Choose to Challenge' and we remember those women throughout history who challenged prevailing ideas of what women’s lives should be.
Take Eagle House, in Batheaston, owned by Colonel and Mrs Emily Blathwayt. Along with their daughter Mary at the beginning of the 1900s they opened up their house to suffragettes who were campaigning for Votes for Women, many of whom had been imprisoned and force fed. There were lots of women, including Elsie Howey, Annie Kenny, Rose Lamartine Yates, Constance Bulwer Lytton, Charlotte Marsh, and many more.
Eleanor Coade (1733–1821) owned a London Factory which produced Coade Stone. She perfected the recipe to make a stong stone which architects used to make door and window surrounds, ornaments and statues. There is a beautiful example of Coade Stone in Bath. Look at the coat of arms above the chemist in Argyle Street. Eleanor Coade lived in a time when it was not seen as important to educate girls and yet she became a business women.
Helen Hope (1860–1923) became in 1909 the first female councillor in Bath and worked hard on education, housing, libraries, and child employment.
Baroness Burdett Coutts (1814–1906) lived at 16 Royal Crescent. She was said to be the richest woman of her age but gave £315 away to lots of charities, worked to alleviate child labour and poverty, provided medical equipment to Florence Nightingale, and much more.
We thank them all.
bathnewseum.com
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LOOKING BACK | VIEWS FROM THE PAST
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By Andrew Swift
This postcard was published to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bath on 9 November 1917. It was the first visit to the city by a reigning monarch since Queen Anne had come to take the waters over 200 years earlier. This visit, however, was part of a morale-boosting tour of the west country during some of the darkest days of the First World War. To say it was a flying visit is something of an understatement. The royal party arrived at the GWR station at 9.45am and were taken first to Stothert & Pitt’s works, where they met some of the workers engaged in making munitions for the war effort. Next, they visited Bath War Hospital, which had been opened 18 months earlier on the site at Combe Park where the Royal United Hospital now stands. Here a warm welcome was guaranteed, due to Her Majesty having ordered ‘two hundredweight of the highest quality cake tobacco’, together with pipes, to be distributed to the patients. Then, after a quick stop at the Pump Room and the Roman Baths, they headed off by car down Great Pulteney Street to visit munitions factories in Trowbridge and Melksham. This photograph shows that, even though the whole visit had taken less than one and a half hours, soldiers billeted in the city stood to attention while crowds lined the street in the rain to cheer them on their way.
akemanpress.com
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THE KIOSK | MAGAZINE MOMENTS
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Curated by Daniel McCabe – Magalleria
Inspirational journey/adventure mag Sidetracked has been going as long as we have and we’ve watched its sales soar over the years, even though the genre has boomed with new entrants. It’s been a rock for us and they’ve delivered a banger for their twentieth issue. There's the regulation immersive storytelling, yet it somehow feels even more refreshingly diverse this time, yoking together tales about summiting K2 in winter, photographing the legendary Ice Bears of the Yukon, skiing solo down Shakunage-dake Mountain in Japan, riding a high-altitude pass in Peru to sojourning in the Pandemic-free Mentawai Islands, and much more. Plus Jared Leto on the cover.
£10; magalleria.co.uk
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OUR MARCH ISSUE | GREAT READING STARTS HERE
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We're back!
Get a copy of our new March magazine to stay engaged, stimulated and well-informed. We have a debate on the Clean Air Zone that's coming to Bath (the first city outside London) on 15 March, an enlightening interview with the co-founder of green energy company Pure Planet, an insight into the work of two hoteliers who have taken the boutique hotel to new levels; a detailed colour-of-the-year interiors investigation, a peek into a majestic new book all about 19th-century geologist William Smith's groundbreaking strata maps, and consider how the pandemic has affected our food experience and what might be on the food horizon once we're allowed out again.
Read it online here: thebathmagazine.co.uk
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ON THE BOOKSHELF | INTERNATIONAL RECIPES
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| Review by Saskia Hayward, Topping & Co. |
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| One: Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones |
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Described as “a greener way to cook for you, your family, and the planet” the award-winning ‘queen of the greens’ Anna Jones returns to revolutionise our cooking with One.
With over 200 new recipes from around the world she brings us African peanut stew, Korean carrot and sesame pancakes, halloumi, mint, lemon and caramelised onion pie. Blending simplicity and speed with depth of flavour is her focus, with one-tray dinners like baked dahl with tamarind-glazed sweet potato, and one-pot soups and stews such as Persian noodle. This is conscious cooking for our current moment: with a focus on reducing waste, making use of leftovers, and moving away from plastic. With stylish, delicious and varied recipes she invents a new array of soon-to-become kitchen staples with vegetarian (and vegan) cooking at its heart.
£26, Fourth Estate; toppingbooks.co.uk
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| Review by Saskia Hayward, Topping & Co. |
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| Torta della Nonna: A Collection of the Best Homemade Italian Sweets |
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In Torta della Nonna Emiko Davies collates 55 of the best Italian sweet recipes from her previous books – Florentine, Acquacotta, and Tortellini at Midnight – alongside five brand new recipes.
It features an array of classic well-known recipes alongside delightful new treats, and a number of recipes that have been passed down through her family for generations. It is food to accompany you throughout the day: from sweet Italian breakfasts such as lemon and ricotta cake, and custard and quince jam pies; snacks such as rosemary and sultana buns, to celebratory Florentine cakes and Zuppa Inglese.
As with all of her previous books, Torta della Nonna is guided by Emiko’s stunning photography and stories of her family’s life in Italy. This is a little taste of Tuscany to brighten up a drizzly lockdown March.
£16.99, Hardie Grant; toppingbooks.co.uk
Both books are available for collection or post via the Topping & Co. website, or at the door.
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A New Worldview: Vienna's Contribution to European Culture 1890-1935: A Live Digital Symposium
Running from 19-21 March, A New Worldview: Vienna's Contribution to European Culture 1890-1935 is a multi-disciplinary digital event that turns the spotlight on a period when radical new thinking in philosophy, music, psychology, architecture, and the arts changed culture in a profound way that is still felt today.
Join BRLSI as they focus on an extraordinarily fertile period in European cultural history.
Read more about the event on our website: thebathmagazine.co.uk
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INTERIORS | COLOURS OF THE YEAR
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The four images below show interiors with colours that have been nominated by different paint companies as summing up the spirit of the year. It all feels a bit confusing: Pantone chose two colours, yellow and grey; Little Brown chose Epoch (plum); and Benjamin Moore chose Aegean Teal. Which one is for you? Get to the bottom of this colour conundrum in our interiors feature in our March issue, just published this week.
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PROPERTY OF THE WEEK | DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE
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| Stothert Avenue, The Riverside, Bath |
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This is a spacious ground floor one-bedroom apartment within the award-winning and popular Riverside development.
The apartments were built in 2012 as part of the Crest Riverside development and since then has become a wonderful new community, close to the city centre but with its own very popular coffee shop and the newly opened Elizabeth Park. Residents also have the use of the gated communal gardens and permit parking
. A private entrance hall leads to an open-plan living space with double aspect and a Juliet balcony.
The kitchen is in great order with fitted Bosch appliances including oven, fridge, freezer and dishwasher.
There is a master bedroom with fitted wardrobes, stylish bathroom and utility cupboard with washer/dryer.
In total the apartment is approximately 50 sq meters of floor space. Guide Price £275,000
For further details contact Winkworth Estate agents in Bath
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| Popular on our website this week: |
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