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| Plus, Bath Abbey choir's Christmas album, how to work alone, and what's hot on the box |
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News, views, city updates and more... to keep you going
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LAUNCHED TODAY | LUXE LOOKS FOR LESS
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Lovers of thrifted, sustainable fashion can now find selected gorgeous, curated style online at DorothyHouse.Shop.
Visit the online shop – which launched today – to look great and feel good, knowing that your clothing choices save beautiful things from going to landfill and support health and social care in the community.
Dorothy House have sorted the most unique and special items for the online collection and will be putting up new finds every day so you can get that thrifting fix but without having to rummage!
All profits go to charity Dorothy House which provides holistic care and support to people with a life-limiting illness, the dying, their family members and carers.
dorothyhouse.shop
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A WELCOME OPENING | BAMBOO BUZZ
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| Mabboo opens new store in Bath |
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Mabboo – an independent bamboo shop – specialising in bamboo clothing and zero waste accessories, has opened a new store on Southgate Place in Bath.
Offering everything from t-shirts to toothbrushes – all made from bamboo – customers can feel safe in the knowledge that they are buying products that are kinder for the environment.
Opening just in time for the festive season, why not keep it local and eco-friendly this Christmas!
mabboo.com
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WILDLIFE NEWS | HELP FOR HEDGEHOGS
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| Bath Spa introduces hedgehog-friendly campus |
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The newly formed Hedgehog Friendly Campus Team at Bath Spa University are working to raise awareness of the decline of hedgehogs, the challenges they face today and are taking action to create a safe space on campuses for them to thrive.
Hedgehogs are listed as vulnerable under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, and there has been a decline of up to 50% since 2000. This is due to the multiple challenges they are facing today: litter, roads, disconnected habitats (due to fences, walls and roads), environmental poisons and a lack of access to water and food.
The team at Bath Spa is working to complete 10 actions to achieve the Hedgehog Friendly Campus Bronze accreditation by 31 January 2021. This will include fundraising, staff training, completing surveys, litter picking, and installing hedgehog houses and hedgehog crossings. Then they will work towards the Silver and Gold accreditations.
Bath Spa University
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MUSIC | SING SONG MERRILY ON HIGH
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Bath Abbey Choir's new album
The Bath Abbey Choir has released a new Christmas album. The recording was made earlier this year in January with the full abbey choir of girls, boys and lay-clerks, conducted by Huw Williams, the Abbey’s director of music, and accompanied by the assistant director of music, Shean Bowers.
Titled Gaudete!, the album features 21 choral classics for the festive season including old favourites such as Hark the Herald! and some new surprises such as Whitacre’s luminous Lux Aurumque. Another of the highlights is an original arrangement of Away in a Manger written by Huw Williams while he was director of music at Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St James’ Palace, and first performed at Buckingham Palace in December 2015 for Her Majesty The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast.
The abbey choirs are widely regarded as among the finest in Britain, performing to the highest standard with regular broadcasts and concerts. The abbey has no choir school and consists of two separate treble lines – boys (aged 8 to 13) and girls (aged 11 to 18) with the lower voices sung by professional singers – adult lay-clerks.
The Bath Abbey Choir's Gaudete! album is available to buy or download from a variety of websites including Presto Classical, Spotify and iTunes.
Due to the pandemic, this year will be different at the abbey, with plans to have some limited Christmas services available once lockdown ends on 2 December 2020. Details will be available soon on the website: bathabbey.co.uk
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ANNOUNCEMENT – OUR DECEMBER ISSUE
Abiding by the spirit of the current lockdown period and wishing to respect Government guidelines, we are rescheduling the publication of our December magazine – originally intended for 24 November.
We publish in the first week of December. Advertisers please note that the deadline is looming – get in touch if you'd like to be included.
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NOVEMBER ISSUE | GREAT WRITING, GREAT READING
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| Our current issue can still be picked up |
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As always, there's a lot of great reading by our team of wonderful writers and contributors as well as beautifully presented advertising by Bath's best businesses. We hope you'll enjoy the read. Every month 15,000 copies are delivered door to door and, until mid-month, copies can be picked up at many places around town and from our stands at the main supermarkets: Waitrose, Sainsbury's (Green Park Station), M&S Foods (Twerton) and Tesco Weston village.
Alternatively visit our website to read online.
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MIDWEEK RECIPE | AUBERGINE AND TOMATO CURRY
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Recipe by Melissa Blease
Baby it's cold outside... which is why you need a speedy, spirit-lifting vegetarian curry to warm the cockles of your heart.
You can make this curry as chilli-hot or gingerly mild as you choose, depending on what strength (and how much) curry powder you use. The coconut milk will add a creamy edge; if you opt for vegetable stock instead, expect a 'cleaner tasting' end result. As for the rather large glug of olive oil: aubergines soak up oil like a sponge soaks up water, which is what makes the resulting dish so silky. If, however, you'd prefer to cut down on oil, simply salt the aubergine chunks for 30 minutes before cooking and rinse/pat dry before cooking – this way, they'll absorb less oil as you'll only need around two tablespoons for frying.
The optional dollop of chutney, meanwhile, brings depth and a unique sweet/sour personality to the party – either a complex aubergine pickle or milder, fruity mango chutney both work really well.
Ingredients (serves 4)
2-3 large aubergines (about 900g in total), cut into bite-sized chunks
2 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped/crushed
1 half-thumb fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
700g large, juicy tomatoes, roughly chopped (don't discard the juices!)
2 tbsp mild, medium or hot curry powder
1 x 400ml can light coconut milk or vegetable stock
1 tbsp garam masala
Olive oil
2 tbsp Indian chutney, mango or aubergine work well (optional)
Natural yogurt; generous handful of fresh coriander and/or mint, chopped; and rice or roti, to serve
Method
Heat 6 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat and gently soften the aubergines and onions for around 10 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for a further couple of minutes before adding the curry powder. Continue to sauté until fragrant (around 2 minutes), add the chopped tomatoes (with their juice) and the coconut milk or cold water. Simmer gently for around 15 minutes until the mixture has thickened, stirring in the chutney (if using) at the halfway stage.
Season well and add the garam masala before serving in warm bowls topped with yoghurt and coriander/mint and accompanied by rice or roti.
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INDIE FOOD PLEASURES | THOUGHTS OF PIZZA
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| Review by Melissa Blease |
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| Review: Thoughtful Bakery pizzas |
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Since the start of the original lockdown, Thoughtful Bakery has kept Bathonians supplied with dairy, pantry and larder essentials, fresh ready meals and, of course, a delectable range of fabulous bread and associated sweet treat delights, all available 'live' from the bakery's Barton Street HQ or via click'n'collect/home delivery. Access to the regularly updated array is so easy that treating the bakery as a one-stop shop for pretty much everything we need to get through the week isn't a stretch too far. But while staying in is the new going out, there's one thing that few people can cope without... and now, we don't have to.
Thoughtful Bakery's pizzas prove that not all click'n'collect pizzas are equal. There are currently five on the menu, cleverly covering all, erm, bases (all of which are sourdough, by the way) and including a sumptuous vegan version, all priced at £9–£10. We opted for a mash-up of the tantalising Hot & Smoky because the promise of proper Ndjua and properly smoked mozzarella (both made/smoked in-house) is a rare treat indeed, paired with a caper- and anchovy-laden Napolitana on the basis that a blast of piquancy would be a good balance for the smoky sorcerer. Both came fully loaded with toppings so well-balanced that none of the components were given a chance to play the Prima Donna, on bases that kicked and charred and in all the right places and at a box temperature that refused to drop on the journey home, even on a chilly evening. We dipped our crusts into what's possibly the most garlicky aioli I've ever encountered from a side menu that includes homemade 'slaw, chilli oil, mayonnaise and garlic bread (all of which are vegan). We drank a bottle of Honey's Stoney Bonk cider and a can of Electric Bear's Zorbing and finished our feast with a light but super-creamy tiramisu and a Vegan Surprise that I pretty much refused to share because it was chocolate ganache heaven in-a-pot... and we finished off our puds for breakfast the next day, because that's how Thoughtful Bakery's portions roll.
Thoughtful Bakery pizzas are available to pre-order and click'n'collect every Thursday to Saturday evening, but be warned: available slots fill up very quickly indeed... especially now that doughnuts have been added to the dessert menu too.
goodeats.io/ThoughtfulBakery
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OBJECT OF INTEREST | HOLDING SWAY
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Georg Jensen Cobra Stainless Steel Candleholders (set of three)
The Cobra candleholder sensual fluid shape is undoubtedly one of Georg Jensen’s most recognisable and iconic designs. Seemingly defying gravity, the lightness of the candleholders has a magical effect – one that is doubled when the flickering candlelight is reflected in the surface.
This set of three candlesticks – small (160mm), medium (200mm) and large (240mm) – form a beautiful natural group that, like a cobra, seems to sway this way and that. The designer, German-born Constantin Wortmann says that his work shouldn’t be taken too seriously and should evoke an emotional response. Made from stainless steel with a mirror-polished finish, the three candlesticks are durable, weighty and stable. £150 for three.
mallory-jewellers.com
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MIDWEEK WINES | DID SOMEONE SAY ROSE PROSECCO?
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| By The Great Wine Co. |
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Stelle d’Italia Rosé Prosecco!
This is one of the first Rosé Proseccos on sale in the UK; only recently has Italy’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry approved rule changes to allow the addition of Pinot Noir to the traditional Prosecco grape variety that makes this possible.
The Stelle d’Italia Prosecco is made by Serena Wines, a family-run winery in the heart of the Prosecco region just a few miles from Conegliano. It's a beautiful fresh and light sparkling rosé with an intense red berry character. The fragrant, inviting nose follows through the palate, which offers hints of strawberries alongside a creamy mousse and a crisp finish.
£11.95 – £10.75 Multi-buy and save 10% when you purchase 12 or more.
Discover more at The Great Wine Co.
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TAKE FOUR | LOW-CARB SIDE DISHES
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Cauliflower rice
Pulse cauliflower florets in a food processor or grate with a cheese grater until broken down into rice-sized 'grains' ready for stir-frying, microwaving (sprinkled with a little water in a heat proof bowl, covered with cling film, for 3 minutes on high) or roasting (spread the grains on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and slide into a hot oven for around 12 minutes, mixing at the halfway point). Use in place of rice or couscous, cooked/sprinkled with various seasonings and herbs (ground cumin, chilli, coriander, mint, parsley, etc) according to the theme of the main dish.
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| Cabbage and white bean mash |
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Steam or braise around 350g sliced white or savoy cabbage in a large pan or wok until tender. Drain and return to the warm pan. Drain and rinse a 400g can of cannellini, white kidney or butter beans and add to the cabbage with a generous dollop of half-fat crème fraiche, a little salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Blend with a stick blender until you reach your preferred consistency, reheat through and serve in place of mashed potato. Leftovers are lovely shaped into fritters, dusted with flour and panfried until crisp and golden.
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Courgetti spaghetti
Fans of the spiraliser will already be au fait with this remarkably satisfying replacement for traditional spaghetti. You can, however, achieve a similar effect by being patient with a vegetable peeler to create wide, fettuccine-like slices or shredding with a grater to create fat noodles roughly akin to orzo or casarecce. Once prepped and ready to go, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and stir-fry over a medium heat for around one minute before sprinkling with water and steaming in the pan for 5-7 minutes until your pasta alternative is tender. Season well, and top with your favourite pasta sauce.
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The light crispy coating on these nutrient-packed alternatives to potato wedges gives way to a decadently rich texture and a uniquely creamy taste. Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC/gas mark 5. Peel, de-stone and slice two avocados into six or eight chunky wedges and sprinkle with lemon or lime juice. Dredge each wedge in seasoned flour, dip into beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs (preferably panko) before baking in the oven for 15 minutes until crisp on the outside and buttery within. Serve with smoked paprika-infused plain yogurt or on top of a pile of well-dressed mixed salad leaves.
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ON THE BOOKSHELF | GOING SOLO
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Solo: How to Work Alone (and Not Lose Your Mind)
Whether by choice or circumstance, as a freelancer or a company employee working from home, more of us are becoming solo workers than ever before. But once you've made the leap, how to do you actually work well in isolation? And how can you thrive while working alone?
Picking up where the freelancer bibles stop, Solo addresses what we gain but also miss when we shift from the structure of an office environment to the solitary confines of our homes or studios. Blending the latest research in psychology, economics and social science with guided self-examination and more than ten years of freelance experience, Rebecca Seal shows you how to stay resilient, productive and focused in a company of one.
Practical and inspiring, she also explores the idea of meaningful work and helps you define your own success.
£14.99; toppingbooks.co.uk
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URBAN COMMENTARY | RICHARD WYATT
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| "...we’ve got a mighty river running through this World Heritage city and its energy is currently untapped..." |
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The London Road’s days as the most polluted approach to the city centre are finally going to be numbere, but don’t hold your breath for too long. The government’s announcement that no more petrol or diesel powered new cars are to be sold after 2030 IS good environmental news but that doesn’t mean to say the current stock of four-wheeled polluters is going to disappear overnight.
The average life of a new car is twelve years or 200,000 miles, so we aren’t going electric overnight. Just as well, when the cost of electric vehicles has to be brought down and hundreds of charging points put up. They may be cheaper to run but the upfront initial purchase cost is still high.
While vans are included in this - there is also no mention of lorries and – excuse me if l have missed something – but l don’t see electric sixteen-wheelers making headlines at present.
The government’s ‘green industrial revolution’ also sprinkles money on the cost of insulating homes and investing in wind power. Maybe the residents of Great Pulteney Street would like a large and graceful windmill to replace the poor old Laura Place fountain. Also, how about the Royal Crescent – and Lansdown and Camden – agreeing to transform their gently curving roofs into giant solar energy collectors? Yeh, l know, these are listed and protected buildings and nothing must detract from the Georgian look of the place.
However, we’ve got a mighty river running through this World Heritage city and its energy is currently untapped. Some turbines sensitively installed could contribute to the cause – one under Pulteney Bridge could power the floodlights!
While we’re talking about charging points for cars, tucked away in the Wessex Water free magazine pushed through my letterbox is a little paragraph about the intention to install drinking water refuelling points around our city. A chance to top up your water bottle and a further incentive to do your own bit for the environment, and that’s walk more!
Finally, and from a personal point of view, can l return to the proposal by developers Guild Living to transform the old Homebase site into a retirement village. Their application is due to come before B&NES planning committee next month and l hope they won’t be swayed by a decision by a council in Elmbridge, Surrey to turn down a similar application because it would ‘drain’ the ‘vitality’ of the town.
My thanks to the person who sent me a clipping from The Sunday Times in which Dame Esther Ranzten, founder and president of The Silver Line (a free online telephone helpline for older people) attacks the decision. She referred to her TV career and the That’s Life programme in which she said she preferred stopping the over-65’s in her street interviews because they were both mischievous and unpredictable. She said older people enjoyed shopping in high streets, patronising theatres, they loved parks and gardens and were the backbone of local charities.
Not only did they add vitality to their towns, but deprived of the appropriate and safe housing they need they would be stuck in hospitals as bed blockers or in homes that had become too big and expensive for them and become home blockers.
She wondered whether Elmbridge councillors would refuse to invite Sir David Attenborough, Sir Michael Palin or even HM the Queen to an event for fear they would drain it of vitality.
Let me conclude by saying our very own Bath-born Dame Mary Berry is always welcome in our city and l hope this new retirement village will be too.
bathnewseum.com
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ON THE BOX | GETTING ALL FESTIVE
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| Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas |
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Here's something a bit different. Interior designer Benjamin 'Mr. Christmas' Bradley works the Changing Rooms formula with a seasonal spin and a trusty team of 'elves' to help families transform their homes for the holidays. This new Netflix original series stars Benjamin as he gifts deserving families with the best present of all: a holiday home makeover. Bradley sharpens his design chops and his penchant for all-things Christmas to provide clients with some very merry, yet extravagant makeovers for the season. His styling might not be everyone's choice, but it's sure to be entertaining as Benjamin follows his mantra of "We're going Christmas balls to the wall!"
Watch it on Netflix today
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LUXURY SPA | A DOSE OF ESCAPISM
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The outdoor Oslo sauna is one of the unique offerings from Ursell Pools and Wellness, having been conceived and produced entirely inhouse by their creative team In Saltford.
Available in a range of sizes, with varied customisable options, you won't find this sauna anywhere else. Whether you are looking for a traditional Finnish sauna, a bio sauna, or a combo, the team can adapt the Oslo for you. The option of a window or glazed panel and a range of exterior finishes (cedar, larch, painted) further enhance the choices you have to make yours a unique sauna. Once designed, installation normally takes place in one day.
Ursell designs and manufactures modular outdoor sauna cabins and deck systems. Their in-house design team can work with you to create your dream – from a simple one or two-person cabin to one to accommodate the wider family or friends.
ursell.com
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PROPERTY UPDATE | COMING TO THE MARKET SOON
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| The Old Tannery, Turleigh, Bradford-on-Avon |
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The beautiful and charming hamlet of Turleigh is situated just a few miles from the picturesque market town of Bradford on Avon. The Old Tannery is believed to have existed since the 17th century and possibly as far back as the Domesday Book. The present building dates back to the late 18th century and was converted in the late 1950s to provide a private residential property.
Set in a superb, elevated location, this Grade II listed house is laid out over four floors including a superb kitchen with range cooker, and a terrace leading off it overlooking the main lawn and millpond.
A wonderfully spacious sitting room is at garden level with three sets of French doors leading out to south and east facing terracing. On the upper two floors are five spacious bedrooms with modern bathroom facilities, all of which have a wonderful aspect over the gardens and beyond. The property also has the flexibility for a number of possible self-contained annexes.
The property has a double carport, above which there is a separate office and storage. The house is set within the one acre of beautifully landscaped gardens. A pathway to the south of the drive leads down to a further beautiful garden area with a waterfall carrying spring water in to the millpond below. On the market at £1,700,000.
cobbfarr.com
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