Didsbury-Magazine-Jun-Jul-2013

ISSUE 91 u JUNE/JULY 2013 

Love & 

Marriage 

Perfect planning for 

your wedding day 

Paul King 

Allotment Junkie 

Didsbury 

Arts 

Festival 

Highlights revealed 

FASHION • SHOPPING • BEAUTY • FOOd • TrAvEl • HEAlTH

Still ahead of the rest 

At JP & Brimelow you always come first 

Great customer service is paramount to us. 

That’s why we work extra hard to ensure 

your move is a smooth and stress-free one. 

If you’re considering selling your home, 

choose Didsbury’s number one agent. 

Call the Didsbury office on 0161 448 0622. 

SALES T. 0161 448 0622 | LETTINGS T. 0161 445 2300 | www.jpbrimelow.co.uk 

Office also in Chorlton 0161 882 2233 and Withington 0161 445 9700 

Designed by Helen Hewitson 0161 438 0885


Love & 

Marriage 

Perfect planning for 

your wedding day 

Paul King 



Arts 

Festival 

Highlights revealed 

FASHION • SHOPPING • BEAUTY • FOOd • TrAvEl • HEAlTH 

Rose Walters wearing a wedding dress from 

Lace in Hale and headdress from Flower 

Lounge, Didsbury 


Love & 

Marriage 

Perfect planning for your 

wedding day 

The 

Pudding 

New boutique for Club expectant mums 

The French 

By Simon Rogan at The Midland 


Morgan Brown wearing a wedding 

dress from Lace in Hale 


HALE | BOWDON | WORSLEY | BRAMHALL | PRESTBURY | WILMSLOW | ALDERLEY 

EDGE | KNUTSFORD 

LOVE & 

MARRIAGE 

Perfect planning for your wedding day 

Paul Berry 

Headteacher at The Ryleys 

Welcome 

MAGAZINE 

The 

Pudding 

Club 

New boutique for 

expectant mums 


Image courtesy of Peckforton Castle 

14 

Wedding fever 

Welcome to the Wedding Issue, providing you with ideas, tips and advice for the perfect 

wedding day. There is so much to organise when planning your dream day, so hopefully the 

next few pages will guide you effortlessly through the process. 

The weather doesn’t seem to be getting any better, so if you haven’t already booked your 

summer holiday, take a look at the travel pages for some inspiration. 

We will be back with you in August with a ‘Day’s out Guide’ and hopefully some sunshine! 

e: beverley@salutions.co.uk 

EstablishEd 2002 

JUNE/JULY 2013 I 1

inside 

PEOPLE 

31 abbY allEN 

The Aduki Diet 

37 PROFEssOR aNil JaiN 

Asian Breast Awareness Movement 

53 PaUl KiNG 


63 PaUl bERRY 

Headmaster At The Ryleys 

68 adEll haRPER 

Life Change 

FASHION & 

SHOPPING 

29 Kids FashiON 

Funky Clothes at Millymog 

70 GadGEts 

Must-Have’s For Your Big Day 

26 

2 I JUNE/JULY 2013 


HEALTH & BEAUTY 

23 MaKE-UP MastERClass 

Party Perfection 

26 WE lOVE 

A Few Of Our Favourite Things 

32 thE NUtRitiONal 

thERaPist 

Eating your way to radiant skin 

29 

30 

53 

14 

42

TIM RICE AND ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER ’S MASTERPIECE 

COMES TO SALFORD FOR TWO WEEKS ONLY! 

STARRING 

MARTI PELLOW 

AS CHE 

MADALENA ALBERTO 

AS EVA PERON 

MARK HEENEHAN 

AS PERON 

‘a monumental Show’ 

SUNDAY EXPRESS 

BILL KENWRIGHT 

BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH THE REALLY USEFUL GROUP 

PRESENTS 

S H E S E D U C E D A N A T I O N 

Mon 29 Jul - Sat 10 Aug £22.50 - £46 

0843 208 6000 thelowry.com/musicals

inside 

TRAVEL 

41 thE RadissON blU 

haMPshiRE hOtEl 

Leicester Square, London 

42 OMaN 

The perfect alternative to Dubai 

44 CaRRiER tRaVEl 

Villa holidays with Carrier Travel 

HOME & GARDEN 

46 iNtERiORs 

Outdoor living 

48 GaRdENstYlE 

Not to be sniffed at 

EVERYTHING ELSE 

07 NEWs 

What’s happening in and around the area 

13 aNYONE FOR tENNis? 

South Manchester is ‘The Promised Land’ 

for tennis 

GROUP EditORial diREctOR 

Beverley Uddin-Khandakar 

GROUP ManaGinG diREctOR 

Salim Uddin-Khandakar 

SalES 

Rose Walters 

rose@salutions.co.uk 

0161 445 2883 


aRt diREctiOn & dESiGn 

Stealth Advertising & Design 

EditORial SUPPORt 

Steve Jones 

cOntRibUtORS 

Anne Britt, Catherine Reed, Jill Nash, 

Celia Cooper, Fay Wertheimer, 

John Waddington, Oliver Chesher, 

Philip Valentino, Jennifer Riddall, 

Mark Kureishy 


41 

14 WEddiNG FEatURE 

Ideas, tips and advice for the perfect 

wedding day 

55 FOOd REViEW 

The French by Simon Rogan 

at The Midland 

59 EdUCatiON NEWs 

News and achievements from the 

schools 

74 REViEWs 

Music, book, film & DVD reviews 

CONtRibUtORs 

PhOtOGRaPhy 

PR Shots, Bigstockphoto.com, 

Press Loft, Alejandro Garcia, 

Monir Ali, David Laslet 

diStRibUtiOn 

Avanti 

Find US On 

® 

26 

70 

75 WhilE YOU WERE OUt 

Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks 

76 What’s ON 

Festival season and summer shows 

80 MOtORs 

Land Rover at Peckforton Castle 

This Magazine is published six times a year by Salutions Limited. The contents may 

not be reprinted or reproduced without prior written permission. The publishers are 

not liable for statements made and opinions expressed. While every care is taken, 

prices and details are subject to change and the publisher can take no responsibility 

for omissions and errors. 

St James House, 676 Wilmslow Road, 

Didsbury, Manchester M20 2DN. 

Tel: 0161 445 2883 

E: info@salutions.co.uk 

13

Revive is the essence of great food and quality service 

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WA16 6EQ. 

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01942 601 111 

www.easternrevive.co.uk

Local News 

Didsbury, Bowdon Knutsford, Alderley Edge, Prestbury, 

Hale, Bramhall, Wilmslow, Hale Barns 

Local builder short-listed 

A local builder from south Manchester has 

made it through to the regional final of the 

LABC Building Excellence Awards. 

Birch Construction has been short-listed 

in the Best Small Builder category for its 

work on a residential property on Lapwing 

Lane in West Didsbury. The project, 

which was completed over an eleven 

month period, saw the transformation of 

a derelict Victorian property from bedsits 

into a stunning five-bedroom family home. 

The project garnered considerable praise 

from local residents and planning authorities 

throughout its construction for being one of the 

last privately owned residential developments 

in the area. The company was nominated for 

the award by Manchester Building Control, 

the council department responsible for 

implementing the rules for building work in 

new and altered buildings across the city 

to make them safe and accessible and limit 

waste and environmental damage. 

The best afternoon 

tea in the UK 

Davenports Tea Room has scooped the 

best place to have afternoon tea in the 

UK in the Tea Guild’s Top Tea Place Award 

2013. Run by husband and wife team Ian 

and Belinda Davenport, the Tea Room 

has an Alice in Wonderland theme as 

author Lewis Carroll was born less than 

two miles away, which accounts for the 

décor, favoured by the judges, and they 

celebrate annually with a Mad Hatter’s 

Tea Party. The Tea Room sells home-made 

cakes and scones and produces its own 

eggs on-site. It also uses local ingredients 

where possible. 

Jill Fogden performs at Didsbury Arts Festival 

Singer and pianist Jill Fogden will be performing at Didsbury Baptist Church on Saturday 

22 June at 8pm, as part of Didsbury Arts Festival 2013. The programme will include 

songs from Jill’s debut album ‘Listen to my story’ and material from her forthcoming 

second album, including the new single ‘Man behind the eyes. Jill will be accompanied 

by gifted musicians Carol Jason and Johanna Levy. This promises to be a moving and 

inspiring evening. Tickets available on the door £5 (£3 conc.). 

For preview, please see www.jillfogden.co.uk Twitter: @jillfogden @DidsArtsFest 

330 

NOW SERVING NEPALESE & TIBETAN CURRY DISHES 

NEW NEW 

NAMCHE BAZAAR - NEPALESE TAPAS RESTAURANT 

136 Burton Road, West Didsbury, Manchester M20 1JQ 

0161 445 6377 / info@namchebazaar.co.uk / www.namchebazaar.co.uk 

Open 5 ‘til late 7 days a week - Takeaway service available 


LOCAL NEWS 

Adeona Travel raises £500 for Francis House 

Hats off to Butley Hall 

It’s full steam ahead on the restoration and 

redevelopment of Butley Hall, Prestbury’s 

Grade II listed mansion house, which is 

being returned to its former residential 

glory by Edengate Bespoke Homes. 

The late 17th-century Georgian-style 

mansion house, featured in The Domesday 

Book, has seen various cosmetic changes 

over the years, it’s most significant being 

the transformation from single dwelling to 

www.keepitfun.rank.com 

Over 18s only. Photo ID is required. 

www.gambleaware.co.uk 


Adeona Travel in Cheadle Hulme handed a 

cheque to Francis House for £500, which 

they raised through a competition to win a 

weekend in Switzerland and a trip on the 

Glacier Express. Congratulations to local 

resident Jennifer Jones who won the prize. 

James Wilson of STC Switzerland Travel Centre, 

Dina Bissiney Adeona Travel and the lucky prize 

winner Mrs Jennifer Jones. 

The Butley Hall Development 

team assembles on-site to 

kick-start construction. 

apartments in the 1960s. In recent years 

it has fallen into disrepair while waiting for 

a new owner to take on the challenge of 

renovation. 

Edengate Bespoke Homes will 

sympathetically restore and redevelop 

the building into seven luxury apartments, 

and will construct three elegant new 

townhouses in a complementary style to 

the main building within the grounds. 

Local mum nominated 

A Manchester mum who set up her own 

business after the birth of her second child 

has been nominated for a top national 

award that celebrates the best activities for 

youngsters across the country. 

Eve Murphy, 34, who lives in Withington 

with her husband and two children, took 

a leap of faith after ten years as a PE and 

dance teacher to pursue her dream of 

establishing her own dance school. Two 

years on, Dancing Days now runs classes 

in Cheadle, Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme 

for children aged 16 months to 7 years. The 

business will also see its first franchise open 

in September. 

Dancing Days offers a wide range of carefully 

developed preschool classes as well as 

ballet, street dance and dance parties. 

Fantastic Cinema & Meal Deal 

Get a two course meal at Grosvenor G Casino Didsbury 

and a cinema ticket for Cineworld for only £11.95 every 

Wednesday and Thursday. 

For more information please call on 0161 669 7165 

Grosvenor G Casino Didsbury, Parrswood Entertainment Centre, Wilmslow Road, 

Didsbury, Manchester M20 5PG

Earle & Ginger Kitchens design and install bespoke classic and contemporary kitchens. 

We offer a full project managed service and our award winning 

designers can help you with all aspects of your new living space 

from under-floor heating to ambient lighting. 

Our Didsbury showroom has been re-fitted to showcase the very 

latest ranges available, so pop in for a look around, or to discuss 

your ideas for the heart of your home. 

680 Wilmslow Road Didsbury M20 2DN Tel: 0161 434 4354 

8 Broomfield Lane Hale WA15 9AQ Tel: 0161 222 4040 

download our new brochure at: 

www.earleandginger.com

LOCAL NEWS 

One million is the magic number 

Team members at Grosvenor G Casino Didsbury are celebrating after 

helping to raise a whopping £1million for Marie Curie Cancer Care. 

The partnership between the charity and the Rank Group, which 

owns Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca, began in January 2010 and 

saw the Didsbury casino take part in a host of different activities to 

raise much-needed funds. Some team members quite literally went 

the extra mile by undertaking a 1,000-mile bike ride from Aberdeen 

to Brighton, helping their casino raise £1,117 for Marie Curie to date. 

Other highlights include casinos arranging Be Gorgeous nights, poker 

nights and even playing ‘extreme poker’ in unusual locations. 

‘A Quid for a Kid’ 

As part of Stress 

Awareness 

Month, Salfordbased 

children’s 

cancer research 

charity KidsCan 

is launching the stress-busting 

celebrity recipe e-book StarBites 

in partnership with renowned 

nutritional biochemist Jeannette 

Jackson and a team of ten top 

celebrities. Developed specifically 

to help parents of children with 

YOUR LOCAL 

CHEESE EMPORIUM 

& 

FINE FOOD STORE 


cancer, the star-studded recipe 

e-book offers a range of stressreducing 

alternatives to traditional 

recipes, which have been designed 

to help boost energy, reduce 

fatigue and support restful sleep. 

StarBites features ten wellknown 

faces, including Radio 

1 Breakfast Show host Nick 

Grimshaw and actress Catherine 

Tyldesley (who plays Eva Price in 

Coronation Street) 

Adoption Matters 

NW are highly 

commended 

www.cheesehamlet.co.uk 

Hale-based charity Adoption 

Matters North West (AMNW) celebrated a first this week after 

being ‘Highly Commended’ at the 2013 Social Impact Awards. 

The event, hosted by BBC presenter Andy Crane, celebrates 

and rewards charities and not-for-profit and social enterprise 

organisations for their outstanding contributions to local 

communities. AMNW was the runner-up in the ‘Large Charity 

of the Year’ category, and the first-ever runner-up to be ‘Highly 

Commended’. AMNW was honoured for its work across the north 

west in finding, preparing and supporting couples and individuals 

to adopt young people who can no longer live with their birth 

parents. Anybody interested in finding out more about Adoption 

Matters North West can visit www.adoptionmattersnw.org. 

Just the bill please 

While generous diners have 

been footing the bill, they 

have also helped to raise vital 

funds for North West Cancer 

Research (NWCR). Living 

Ventures Restaurants Ltd’s 

venues across the north west added £1 to every participating 

customer’s bill for a limited time and raised a total of £22,138. 

Anne Jackson, Chief Executive of NWCR, said: “Without 

fundraising efforts like this, NWCR would not be able to thrive 

and support the projects it does. Given the local incidence 

of cancer it is critical that that the north west remains at the 

forefront of cancer research. I cannot thank Tim and the team at 

Living Ventures enough for their support and for raising such a 

phenomenal amount of money.” 

www.cheesehamlet.co.uk 706 Wilmslow Rd, Didsbury, Manchester, M20 2DW Tel. 0161 4344781

All Aboard? 

Jabberwocks’ Chaya Pitchon, Eilish 

Brennan, Lucy Barker and Katrina James 

stepped into the world of fashion when 

they took part in the special All Aboard 

Hale 150 Fashion Show recently. 

The Catwalk was the Chester Platform, 

with the public viewing from The Manchester 

Platform. 

Clothes were provided by Hale businesses 

Vanilla and Vikki Allen. 

Next stop London St Pancras, Paris-Gare 

de Lyon? 

The Manchester Executive MBA Challenge 

The Manchester Executive MBA Challenge 

offers 20 candidates the opportunity 

to win a full £16,500 scholarship for a 

part-time Executive MBA at Manchester 

Metropolitan University. Scholarships 

worth £4,000 and £2,000 are available for 

runners-up. 

The Challenge, sponsored by Williams 

BMW, consists of four business games 

and challenges that have been designed 

to test candidates’ skills and support their 

professional development. 

To enter, candidates are expected to 

have a minimum of three years’ relevant 

management experience plus a bachelor’s 

degree, or a minimum of seven years’ 

Last year’s winner Karl Roberts 

relevant management experience (without 

formal higher education qualifications). 

Namaste Nepal 

Takeaway & delivery 

Registration for the Manchester MBA 

Challenge closes at 11.59pm on 17 June. 

To apply register now at www.mmu.ac.uk/ 

mbachallenge and begin the ultimate 

journey in executive education. 

7 days a week (3 mile radius free on orders £15 and over) 

Free bottle of soft drink Sun to Thurs on all takeaway orders over £25 

Free bottle of wine with orders over £35 

10% Discount on collection | Free home delivery 

(Within 3 mile radius | min order £15) 

Freddie & Monty swing 

for charity 

Figureheads in the hospitality and golf 

world came together to celebrate 

the multimillion-pound relaunch of 

the exclusive Cheshire resort De Vere 

Mottram Hall at their charity golf day. 

The event raised £11,135 for De Vere’s 

chosen charity, the Asthma Society 

f 

t 

thenamastenepal 

namastenepal1 

OPENING TIMES 

Sun – Thurs 5pm – midnight 

Fri & Sat 5pm – 1am 

164-166 Burton Road 

West Didsbury, M20 1LH 

0161 445 9060 or 

0161 448 8353 

e: info@namaste-nepal.co.uk 

www.namaste-nepal.co.uk 

LOCAL NEWS 


Art, Mus 

ic, T 

TECHNOLOGY 

In association with 

Don’t pass word 

Bored senseless with The Voice and 

not too keen on Grand Designs 

re-runs either, I decided to do a bit 

of personal and some would say mindless 

surfing. Remember the days when we 

just went online for fun, ‘to see what we 

could find’? Sadly, a lot has changed in a 

few years; even worse, the contemporary 

criminal mind is now relentlessly pursuing 

all our valuable private information online. 

If you use Facebook or any other social 

networking site and you happen to publish 

your daughter’s name is Elli, you were born 

in 1970 and your cat is called Jess – beware. 

The less scrupulous and dangerous internet 

operators out there (and don’t kid yourself 

- there are many) could and would have a 

good stab at guessing your passwords. 

omedy, Street Art, Performance, Dance, S 

Art, Performance, Dance, Sculpture, 3D, Ph 

, Sculpture, 3D, Photography, Films, Poetry... 

, Comedy, Street Art, Performance, Dance, Sculpt 

Sculpture, 3D, Photography, Films, Poetry... 

Art, Performance, Dance, Sculpture, 3D, Photography, F 

, Comedy, Street Art, Performance, Dance, Sculpture, 3D 

Art, Music, Theatre, Comedy, Street Art, Performance, Dance, Sculpture, 3D, Photography, Films, Poetry... 

.. 

nce, Sculpture, 3D, Photography, Films, Poetry... 



Art, Music, Theatre, Comedy, Street Art, Performance, Da 







, Photography 

ilm 


Art, 

on your favourite things 

So what? Well, if you don’t do any banking 

online, don’t send any private emails and don’t 

have any personal data on your machine, you 

don’t have too much to worry about. 

If on the other hand (like me), you get the 

feeling your entire life is stored on PCs and 

mobile devices, you might want to take 

password security slightly more seriously. 

High-profile websites such as Dropbox, 

LivingSocial, Twitter and LinkedIN have 

already been targeted; nobody is immune 

and we are all at risk. 

The nearest thing to an online ‘vaccination’ 

is a Password Manager, because if you’re 

Over 100 events in 

9 days Don’t Miss It! 

Didsbury’s Summer 

Arts Festival 


using ElliJess1970 across all your banking, 

online and social media platforms, for 

example, it is like leaving your house wide 

open with signs all over the windows 

saying “Come in, please steal everything, 

we’re away for a month”. If you do nothing 

else today, apart from read this, please 

change your passwords! 

Ed Shropshire is 

Managing director of 

aquarium Software 

Poplar House 

126a Ashley Road 

Hale WA14 2UN 

Tel: 0161 927 5620 

www.aquarium-software.com 

Pick up a programme at Didsbury 

Library or visit the DAF web site. 

Join in online: 

DidsburyArtsFestival 

@DidsArtsFest 

www.didsburyartsfestival.org 


Anyone 

for tennis 

in south Manchester? 

There is some doubt 

about the origins of 

modern tennis, but most 

people attribute lawn tennis to 

Major Walter Wingfield, who 

marketed the game in 1873. 

Whatever the truth, Tennis was 

a craze that swept suburban 

England in the late 19th century 

and in the beginning of the 

20th. This was a time when 

most of south Manchester was 

being built and a Tennis Club 

was a ‘must have’ facility in any 

neighbourhood. 

Although many of these little 

clubs have disappeared over 

years, many remain. There 

are 40 clubs participating in 

an inter Club Junior league 

and there are two adult interclub 

leagues, the North-East 

Cheshire and the South West 

Manchester leagues, which 

have a comparable number of 

participants. 

There are endless numbers of 

tennis tournaments from Mini 

Tennis events for eight-yearolds 

and under to over-60s 

veteran events, with everything 

in between. The top end of 

adult events will include young 

men and women playing at 

national level and lower level 

international tennis. Every 

club has an active coach or 

coaches, with a strong junior 

programme. 

Not surprisingly, every 

generation from this area 

produces players who go on 

to try and make an impact 

in the world of professional 

tennis. The current crop include 

Liam and Naomi Broady, a 

brother and sister combo, 

who first played tennis at the 

Albert Club in West Didsbury. 

Their dad, Simon, won the 

Albert Club Championship in 

1998. Liam has won the boys 

doubles at Wimbledon and at 

the Australian Open, and was 

the runner-up in the boys at 

Wimbledon and the US Open. 

He is now trying to make it in 

the tough world of men’s tennis, 

and many see a bright future 

for this hard-hitting lefty from 

Stockport. His sister, Naomi, 

is 6’ 2” and has a serve like a 

cannon. She has won several 

ITF titles and, for a year or 

two, has been hovering on the 

brink of big-time tennis. There 

is also Samantha Murray from 

Hale. Samantha is currently 

ranked 262 in the world and 

7 in the UK. 

I’m a ‘pyramid’ 

man. I believe 

that more people 

who participate 

at the grassroots 

of the sport, 

the higher will 

be the top of the sport. 

Most top tennis players have 

family members who actively 

participated in the sport. If 

you had ‘hot spots’ for tennis 

activity, south Manchester 

would be glowing red, but, 

sadly, this area is unique. 

There are more tennis clubs 

in Didsbury than the whole of 

north Manchester. 

The average annual subscription 

for a club is in the region of 

£150. Few dress codes remain 

and all clubs have programmes 

to welcome beginners. Women 

and mums are especially 

welcome, because when you 

go to junior tournaments and 

Naomi Broady 

Under 18 UK Champion 

see the next generation of 

aspirational youngsters, it’s the 

mums who are acting as tour 

managers. Andy Murray and 

his mum Judy, Liam and Naomi 

and their dad Simon are not the 

exceptions, they are the norm. 

Bizarrely, if you want to produce 

more top players, tennis needs 

to recruit more average to poor 

players. 

So get out there and have a 

go! There is almost certainly 

a tennis club within walking 

distance of your front door. 

Words Dave Chadwick 


14 I JUNE/JULY 2013

Love 

Marriage 

With the wedding season upon us, it’s full steam 

ahead with planning and preparation, and with 

so much pressure, it’s often easy to lose sight 

of the important stuff. 

Makeup & Hair: Lynette Page & Assistant Kirsty Jane, Lynette Page Makeup Artistry Ltd 

www.lpmartistry.co.uk Tel: 0161 850 1986 

Photography: Nicola Thompson 

Wedding Dress: Lace. 154 Ashley Road, Hale, Cheshire WA15 9SA Tel: 0161 941 7374 

Model: Rose Walters 

FEATURE 



Perfect planning 

With the wedding season upon us, it’s full steam 

ahead with planning and preparation. 

Wedding Planner Ailish 

McDonnell, owner of Keep 

Calm and Marry On, explains 

how there are several things you can do 

to ensure that things run smoothly – with 

forward planning being the key factor. 

Your wedding day is supposed to be the 

most relaxed, stress-free and happiest 

day of your life, and using a wedding 

planner will ensure that you are prepared 

for the worst eventuality and that there 

will always be a back-up plan. 

Weather 

Be realistic. Every bride worries about the 

weather and hopes for it to stay dry. The key 

is to be prepared – hope for the best but all 

is not lost if it rains or snows. Just make sure 

you have plenty of brollies and an emergency 

pair of wedding wellies on hand. 

Social media 

etiquette 

Social media, such as Facebook and 

Twitter, is great for keeping in touch with 

friends and family and a useful tool for 

keeping your wedding party up to date. 

However, if you’re not keen on having every 

intimate detail of your wedding shared with 

the world, then you need to let your guests 

know to respect your privacy. 

Remember to eat 

This may seem obvious, but with so much 

going on it is likely to be the last thing on 

your mind. So many brides forget to eat on 

the morning of their wedding day, so make 

sure that you have at least a small breakfast 

and always include time for snacks in your 

itinerary. 

Hire a professional 

It’s a lovely personal touch and can be 

a great money-saver if a friend or family 

member has offered to drive you to the 

ceremony in their vintage car, take your 

wedding pictures or bake your cake. 

However, if you’re unsure and have 

doubts, it could have an adverse effect on 

your special day, so the golden rule is to 

always hire a professional. 

The speeches 

Everyone, even those accustomed to 

public speaking, get a little nervous about 

making a speech on their wedding day. 

It’s best to keep it short; add a little light 

humour but don’t alienate your guests by 

having inappropriate jokes, which may 

offend or be lost on some of your guests. 

As my husband’s father said to him on our 

wedding day when he was nervous about 

his speech, “just remember, everyone is 

on your side”. 

Relax 

Take a step back, look around and soak up 

everything that is happening. 

After months, possibly 

years, of careful planning, 

the day flies by, so make 

sure you and your other half 

enjoy every single minute! 

FEATURE 

If you would like Ailish to help plan your 

wedding or support you with on-the-day 

co-ordination, call 07732531910, 

visit www.keepcalmmarryon.com 

or email info@keepcalmmarryon.com 


Top tips... 

Help is at hand for brides and grooms-to-be with top 

tips on perfect planning from some of the region’s 

favourite wedding professionals. 

Cake & Favours 

“Always book in for a consultation,” 

advises Laura Draper from The Airyfairy 

Cake Boutique in Didsbury. “This way 

you can see where the cakes are made, 

meet the people and really go into all the 

different options available. Most cake 

places can also make slight alterations 

to get your order within budget. You’ll 

normally get a taster or two as well, which 

will help you decide, and don’t be scared 

to ask questions.” 

Cocoa Cabana in Didsbury offers bespoke 

wedding cakes, gifts, favours and 

chocolate dessert tables. Sarah Gallacher, 

who creates the products herself, works 

closely with two respected wedding 

planners from the north west who can 

assist with the planning if required. She 

says: “All couples are looking for a day 

that is perfect for them. Bring along details 

such as the menu, the flowers and budget 

to the consultation so we can create 

bespoke chocolates and cakes, as well 

as unique flavours to complement your 

menu, and match your floral displays, all 

within budget.” 

Flowers 

“Bring along photos of flowers that you 

like the look of,” advises Sian from The 

Flower Lounge in Didsbury. “You won’t 

need to know the names, but this will 

give a good idea of your personal taste 

and the style of wedding you are going for. 

Be open to suggestions that will suit your 

wedding budget, season, venue, and style. 

Sometimes by tweaking a few flowers or 

FEATURE 

ideas you will get much more of an impact 

and the most from your budget.” 

Stationery 

Charley from Wilmslow-based Charlotte 

Frances Designs advises: “You need to 

send your invitations about two to three 

months before the wedding in order to 

give yourself plenty of time after your 

RSVP date to correlate the info from your 

RSVP, sort your final table plan and let the 

caterer know any dietary requirements. 

The last thing you want to do is feel 

stressed and spoil the enjoyment.” 

She adds: “It is always advisable to ask 

guests to give any dietary requirements 

when they RSVP to save any stress trying 

to sort suitable meal replacement at the 

last minute. Also, an RSVP card enclosed 

will help you get your replies back quickly.” 

For orders of service, Charley advises: 

“Take care when copying hymns, readings 

and poems off the internet. They are not 

always accurate, so it’s advisable to 

check them against a hard copy. Also, 

check that the copyright allows you to 

use them, as this is the responsibility of 

the bride and groom and not the printers. 

Finally, always check the final proof with 

the person performing your wedding 

ceremony before going to print.” 


FEATURE 

Music 

Wedding singer and pianist Jennie Sawdon 

advises: “Firstly, make sure that the words 

to your favourite song are actually suitable 

for your big day - it’s amazing how often we 

don’t listen to lyrics and how inappropriate 

some are for a wedding! Secondly, pick 

songs that mean a lot to you rather than 

just those you think other people will enjoy. 

Finally, I think it works well to pick songs 

that are celebratory and upbeat for your exit 

as this creates the right atmosphere and 

excitement for the rest of the day to come 

(and encourages applause for your exit too, 

which is rather nice).” 

Photographs 

“It is important that you really love your 

photographer’s style of work,” says 

wedding photographer Nicola Thompson. 

“Make sure that you’ve looked in depth 

at that person’s photography. If the 

photographer has nothing to hide, then 

their website will be full of images and 

they will usually have a blog that is kept 

up to date, so you can get a real feel for 

what they are doing. The other thing is to 

meet your photographer in person before 


the day to make sure that you really get 

along and have something in common. 

There’s a lot of new, fresh talent out there, 

so you can actually deal with the sort of 

person you want your photographer to be. 

“The photographer is probably the only 

supplier who is going to be hovering 

around you the entire day, communicating 

with your guests and organising logistics, 

so it’s vital you get on.” 

Gifts 

Buying anything for your home should 

always be a pleasure! Go with what you 

love and build it over time. Bringing home 

new treats is exciting, and they don’t have 

to be expensive. Whether it’s a throw to 

liven up an old sofa, or a pretty jug to fill 

with flowers – it’s the little things that 

make a home, and soon you will develop a 

style all of your own. 

June Miller of Bela Casa in the village of 

Marton commented “We have a mix of old 

and new, pieces we’ve had for many years. 

I love adding new styles from my favourite 

designers, like Susie Watson - her fabrics 

and pottery sit well in any room. I also like 

to spoil my guests by placing my Mathilde 

French fragrance range, the soaps and 

candles make the room smell beautiful 

and adds a bit of luxury. 

“Every morning I open the door to my 

shop it puts a smile on my face, the mix 

of delicate fragrances and all the gorgeous 

things around me are uplifting, and that’s 

what makes a house a home.” 

Venue 

“Choosing a venue is a huge decision in 

the planning process when arranging your 

wedding and not one to be taken lightly,” 

says Natalia Bergier, wedding co-ordinator 

within Eclectic Hotels Manchester. “If 

you’re not ‘wowed’ when you first walk 

in, then it’s not going to be the wedding 

of your dreams. Consider all the variables 

carefully before taking the plunge, such 

as whether you can have a ceremony 

there, what the capacities are, are the 

staff friendly and efficient, are the dining 

options what you are looking for, do you 

have to use the venue’s suppliers (eg. 

DJ, photographer, florist), and most 

importantly, can you see yourself getting 

married there?” 

Matthew Naylor from Peckforton Castle, 

a Grade I listed building in Cheshire, 

adds: “Weddings these days are a big 

investment and the venue is pivotal, so 

when picking a venue there are two main 

things you want to know: how helpful and 

knowledgeable the staff are, and how 

good their food offering is.” 

Look 

The founder of Lynette Page Makeup 

Artistry, a team of hair and make-up 

artists covering the north west and 

beyond, says: “Your wedding day – surely 

one of the best days of your life, but more 

than that, the one day when you truly 

are the centre of attention. As such, you 

want a look to take you through from 

day to night, without worrying that your 

photographs will be spoilt by a Picassolike 

rendition of a bride! Our brides prefer 

a look that enhances their beauty, while 

accenting their best features, which ties 

into our motto, “you but better”. Hire 

a professional - they are wholly used to 

making a bride look beautiful on her happy 

day – and leave the experimental looks for 

the hen night!”

Hale-based 

People to Places 

provides a contemporary 

and vintage wedding 

car service that 

covers the whole 

of the UK 

Armaan Chohan from the company 

advises: “If you are staying close 

to where your service is taking 

place, hire one car instead of two and ask 

the chauffeur to pick up the groom and 

best man first and then the bridesmaids, 

followed by the bride. Not hiring a second 

car can save you up to £600. 

Armaan continued: “Make sure you pick 

a car company that is not just about the 

cheapest in price as it’s all about the 

quality in the tried and tested. I’ve had 

brides call me in tears as the car company 

they booked has let them down the day 

before their wedding and they’ve kept 

their deposit, or a car has turned up and 

FEATURE 

it’s not the same car they ordered. It 

should be all about the service; I can’t 

stress that enough. 

“I would always recommend viewing the 

vehicle before the day because a lot of 

companies on the internet don’t have any 

cars; they just take the booking and then pass 

it on to someone else, so the bride thinks 

she’s booking a car with someone she’s not. 

Again, brides don’t get what they thought 

they were getting – they don’t get the car 

they want and they don’t get the colour they 

asked for. With us, the car you come and see 

and sit in beforehand is the car you’re going to 

have on your wedding day.” 

He adds: “The biggest thing that I recommend 

is if you’ve got a car and you’re getting married 

at a venue that’s not very picturesque, get the 

chauffeur to drive you to a park or gardens so 

your photographer can get scenic photos of 

you with the car.” 

For more information call People To Places 

on 0161 637 2263 


FEATURE 

Fulfilling dreams 

creating memories 

Few of us can imagine what it must 

be like to be told you have a terminal 

illness. It is worse still if you are 

young and expect to have a lifetime to fulfil 

your dreams of getting married, having a 

family and living a long and happy life. 

In 2011, local wedding planner Patricia Browne 

helped a couple who were facing this exact 

reality. She helped them create a dream 

wedding that offered them the opportunity to 

achieve some of the happiness they wished 

for. She co-ordinated their wedding free of 

charge, and the experience made her realise 

there was a real need for a dedicated charity 

that could help others in the same position. As 

a result of her experience, the Gift of a Wedding 

charity was born. 

“Special-occasion hair is all about polish, 

effortless control and healthy shine, and 

contemporary glamour at its best,” says Bruce 

Masefield, Sassoon UK Creative Director. 

Making waves 

“Textured hair doesn’t mean having messy 

hair, it’s all about that lived-in feel,” adds 

Bruce. A leave-in conditioner, such as 

Sassoon Professional Halo Hydrate, will 

retain some sleekness and prevent hair 

from becoming frizzy. For ultimate Studio 

54 glamour, spray your hair with Sassoon 

Professional Motion Hold, then wrap small 

sections of hair around a styling wand, 

pinning each curl to your head with a grip. 

Once you’ve curled every section, unclip 

and shake out. 

As a non-profit organisation, Gift of a 

Wedding aims to gift wedding services 

to people who have a terminal illness, 

regardless of age, sex, race or religion. 

This will be done using the services of 

local wedding suppliers, who will give 

their products and services free of charge 

to couples accepted for the Gift of a 

Wedding. 

This ensures that the financial and time 

pressures of organising a wedding are 

taken away from the couple, allowing 

them to make better use of their time 

together. 

The trustees and volunteers at Gift of a 

Wedding are working tirelessly to set up 

the charity, which will be launched this 

summer, and they are looking forward 

to holding their first fundraising event, a 

Ladies’ Afternoon Tea, next month. 

If you would like more information about Gift of a Wedding, are interested in attending 

the Ladies’ Afternoon Tea, volunteering or gifting your products or services, please 

contact the charity at enquiries@giftofawedding.org or call 08457 40 717. 

Wedding glamour 

with Sassoon Salon 

Straight story 

For effortless style, less is more. Rub a 

cherry-sized amount of Sassoon Professional 

Diamond Polish along your fingers before 

using them to smooth partings and tuck hair 

behind your ears. “A centre parting is very 

youthful and can add a playful feel to your 

look, whereas a side parting is more grown 

up and glamorous,” Bruce says. Finally, to 

complete this cocktail-hour-worthy look, 

blast with a light hairspray, such as Sassoon 

Professional Motion Hold. 

Undone bun 

“Play with the shape of your up-do and 

leave the hair soft and teased in places for 

some simple elegance,” suggests Bruce. 

Starting at the nape of your neck, loosely 

backcomb your hair. Separate out the 

hair down the centre and into a knot at 

the base of your nape. Secure with large 

hairpins and leave the ends loose. Spritz 

with Sassoon Professional Motion Hold to 

create a flirtatious, delicate feel. 

Sassoon Salon 

1 Marsden Street, Manchester M2 1HW 

Tel: 0161 827 7140 

22 I JUNE/JULY 2013 JUNE/JULY 2013 I 1

Party perfection 

Summer – the wedding season. You’ll need to 

find a gorgeous dress (that’s not too gorgeous), 

shoes, and make-up. This is my fail-safe go-to 

party look – maximum impact with minimum 

effort. Our beautiful model is Circe from Tiger 

Lettings Agency in Manchester. 

1Make-up for any event 

or party needs to stay 

on all day and all night, 

especially where weddings are 

concerned –unless you want to 

spend all night in the bathroom! 

Therefore, primer is essential. 

Moisturise first, then use a 

primer specifically for staying 

power (Prep and Prime Skin 

Base, £19.50 ,MAC, is perfect). 

If your primer is good enough, 

you shouldn’t have to opt for a 

long-wear foundation, which 

can end up looking ‘crusty’ as 

the day goes on. I used Bobbi 

Brown Moisture Rich (£28, 

Bobbi Brown) on Circe. 

2 

How you do your eyes 

of course completely 

depends on your outfit 

and individual style. For this 

look, I’ve gone with a subtle 

brown-bronze smoky - this 

will look great with almost 

any outfit and give an easy 

transition from day to nighttime 

3 

with the addition of a little 

more kohl liner. 

Would you like to take part in next issue’s Make-Up Masterclass? 

If so, email your name, age, contact details and a snapshot to 

Rose at rose@salutions.co.uk 

Photography by Photography by David Laslett www.manchesterphoto.com 

Subtle contouring goes 

a long way. This is a day 

when lots of pictures are 

going to be taken – and most 

likely be posted everywhere. 

Use a light bronzer, about 1-2 

shades darker than your own 

skin tone. If you suck in your 

cheeks, you’ll see the line of your 

cheekbone. Work along this line 

in small circular motions. Don’t 

go overboard on the colour, but 

trust me – this simple trick works 

wonders for lifting your face and 

giving you super-model features 

on those photographs. 

4Again – lipstick is so 

personal. Always choose 

a colour you’re going to 

be comfortable with, in a texture 

that won’t dry out or irritate you 

– remember, you’ll be wearing 

this all day. Personally, unless 

you are the bride or undergoing 

copious amounts of champagne 

toasts, I’d opt for a creamy, 

moisturising lipstick with gloss 

rather than a long-wear formula 

that could leave you feeling dry 

and is more difficult to 

add colour or moisture to once 

it’s dried. 



“Your performance of our favourite 

songs, was simply beyond perfect.” 

Dominic and Sarah Bovis 

(on their wedding ceremony) 

Jennie Sawdon 

Award-winning Singer 

& Pianist for all occasions 

c 

Available for ceremony, reception drinks 

and wedding breakfast 

(also for your evening party with her band Rough Hill) 

Email: jennie.sawdon@ntlworld.com 

Tel: 07801 542 736 

Web: www.jenniesawdon.com 

jennifersawdon 

TFL Business Card-for print.pdf 1 14/05/2013 12:15 

Wedding and events specialists 

Bespoke funeral tributes 

Become an accredited 

freelance Hair & Makeup 

artist No previous experience necessary 

g 

Charlotte Frances Designs 

Enchanting Stationery & Accessories 

Two day intensive courses tailored for all skin tones & hair types 

with low fees in the heart of Manchester - free parking. 

Small class numbers in the following: 

Bridal Makeup Bridal Hair 

Asian bridal Makeup Asian bridal hair & scarf pinning 

Celebrity & red carpet styles Red carpet hair 

Commercial fashion & Editorial Fashion editorial hair 

To book onto our next course register at www.lpmartistry.co.uk 

Call for enquiries 01618501986 

Lynette Page Makeup Artistry ltd 

83 Ducie Street, Manchester, M1-2QJ 

T: 0161 850 1986 E: Lynette@lpmartistry.co.uk 

Impress your guests with handcrafted 

stationery & accessories individually 

made just for you. 

Add Elegance 

& Flair 

@cfstationery 

Facebook.com/CharlotteFrancesDesigns 

Tel 07792 401193 www.charlottefrancesdesigns.com 

enquiries@charlottefrancesdesigns.com 

Bela Casa 

Beautiful gifts & Homeware 

Church Farm Congleton Road, Marton, Cheshire SK11 9HF 

Tel 01260 224189 

Email: June@bela-casa.co.uk 

We specialise in Weddings, 

Christenings, Birthdays. 

From traditional wedding 

cakes to cupcake towers 

and cake buffets. 

Call 07791850641 

or visit 

www.airyfairycupcakes.co.uk

Specialists in handmade fresh chocolates, brownies, 

corporate gifts, wedding and celebration cakes. 

As well as selling a range of our own shards, slabs, 

chocolates, lollies and gifts we also stock a selection of 

carefully sourced artisan chocolate products. 

128 Burton Road, West Didsbury, 

Manchester M20 1JQ 

e info@cocoa-cabana.co.uk 

t 0161 283 0775 

f Cocoa Cabana Chocolatiers 

t @Cocoa_cabana 


EDITORS CHOICE 

We 

love... 

These are a few 

of my favourite things... 

Prepare to be WOW’d! 

r 

Introducing Color Wow, a first-of-its-kind collection 

of professionally formulated products that not only 

spells the end for roots, but also solves every single 

issue with colour treated hair. 

Root cover up – With the ease of a photo retouch 

tool, all shades seamlessly cover grey roots, 

dramatically extending the time between colouring 

and highlighting. It’s water resistant and lasts from 

shampoo to shampoo. Available in four shades and 

lasts for 60 applications. 

£28.50 from www.colorwowhair.com 

and Space NK from July 


Kiss Everlasting Gel Polish 

r 

On like polish. Wears like gel. 

Removes in minutes. 

Say goodbye to regular nail polish! 

Kiss Everlasting Gel Polish applies 

just like polish, and colour is instantly 

sealed under the Kiss PRO LED Gel Lamp, 

leaving nails noticeably shiny 

and smooth for up to two weeks. 

Available in 15 shades. 

Gel Colour £13.99 

Gel Lamp: £38.99 

From Tesco and Asda 

astrid Fog 

r 

Originating from 1971 - Astrid Fog’s exotic 

sterling silver bangle and neck ring hold 

cascading sterling silver droplets, which fall 

flamboyantly from polished elliptical silver 

Astrid Fog Necklace £1,700 | Bangle £750 

Georg Jensen in Selfridges Manchester 

a festival must-have! 

r 

PitROK Deodorant Wipes. Convenient and effective 

deodorant wipes based on pure natural mineral 

salts that are kind to your skin. 

£2.49 from Amazon and Morrisons 

nEW Plantscription anti-ageing collection 

r 

Time, sun, pollution, stress, good fortune and bad. That’s what 

wrinkles are made of. In just 4 weeks, Plantscription anti-ageing 

treatments with Anogeissus noticeably helps improve a lifetime 

of laugh lines, birthdays and basking in the sun. 

And with continued use, results improve. 

Anti-ageing cleanser £25 

Anti-ageing treatment lotion £25 

SPF 25 Anti-ageing cream/oil free cream £46 

Available from John Lewis and selected department stores and 

www.origins.co.uk

Escentially Smooth 

r 

Hair-removal cream without the nasty chemical 

smell usually associated with depilatory creams. 

Now you can have beautifully smooth skin without 

dreading the process! 

£5.99 Boots 

MitoQ 

r 

Not your average high-street anti-ageing cream and 

1,000 times more effective than the current most 

powerful anti-ageing product! 

MitoQ hydrates and rejuvenates skin, reducing the 

appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, scars, brown 

spots and skin discoloration, as well as reducing the 

thinning of the skin that occurs with ageing. 

MitoQ is guaranteed to completely rejuvenate the 

skin in just 30 days. After day one, skin looks radiated 

and feels hydrated. By day three, skin feels noticeably 

softer, and after 30 days skin not only feels younger, 

but will have fewer wrinkles and scars. 

£115 for 50ml bottle. 

Available exclusively at MitoQ.com 

the brow tamer 

r 

Delivered in an easy-to-use clickpen, 

this clear brow mascara gel 

provides a manicured finish and is 

perfect between appointments to 

help tame unruly brows. £14.50 

www.shavata.co.uk 

dr Oliver White Smile 

r 

Embrace National Smile Month with the pioneering 

whitening and age-defying collection from Dr Oliver 

White Smile. With 20 years’ experience, Dr Joe Oliver 

is the celebrities’ chosen ‘smile dentist’ and brings 

you clinically proven products for use at home. 

Dr Oliver White Smile Whitening Wands £45 

Gum Serum £30 | Upper Lip Treatment £30 

Plumping Lip Balm £18 | Whitening Toothpaste £12 

Mouth Cleanser £16 

Available at Space NK 

Limited Edition 

EDITORS CHOICE 

ySl baby doll Mascara 

r 

The new Baby Doll mascara from Yves Saint Laurent 

promises to magnify the eyes. The multifaceted 

brush alternates thick, widely spaced bristles to 

coat and magnify the lashes, with finer, more 

closely spaced bristles to define even the shortest 

lashes. £24.50 

lush Spring tin 

r 

Containing Avobath and Secret Garden bath 

ballistics, Carrot re-usable bubble bar, Bright 

Side bubble bar, Happy Hippy shower gel, 

Sugar Scrub, and Bohemian soap to thoroughly 

cleanse, stimulate and invigorate the body. 

£29.95 www.lush.co.uk 


Celebrating 10 years of excellence in childcare 

10 years ago, a local mum Jennie Johnson, couldn’t find childcare she was happy with for her own 

children. From this need, Kids Allowed was born and the rest, as they say, is history! 

Here’s what some of our parents said... 

“Amazing 

staff who love 

the children and instill 

absolute confidence” 

“It’s the little extras like 

free takeaway 

tea & coffee 

for parents that make this 

nursery stand out” 

“The outdoor space 

is my daughter’s favourite place” 

“they really 

listen 

to parents” 

Find out for yourself why 

so many children and their 

parents love Kids Allowed 

by visiting anytime or coming 

along to one of our open days. 

”The staff are 

extremely helpful, friendly & 

knowledgeable and always go that 

Upcoming Open Days 10am - 1pm 

Knutsford 

Stockport 

31st August 

“My son is 

so happy 

with nursery that he 

extra mile!” 

“The food is excellent, 

runs in each time!” 

“A true place 

of fun, learning, 

exploration & 

love” 

freshly made each day 

with lots of variety and very healthy” 

Macclesfield 


10th August 

“Nutritionally balanced 

meals my child loves!” 

Cheadle 

Royal 

3rd August 

“Streets ahead 

of any other childcare provider” 

“Perfect!” 

“We love 

the regular 

progress 

updates 

from the 

Preschool 

Teacher” 

“Ski lessons & 

horse riding 

are just two examples of what makes 

this nursery exceptional” 

Call 0870 750 1021 

or visit www.kidsallowed.com 

/kidsallowed 

/kidsallowedchildcare 

/kidsallowed

FUNKY 

Boys 

Vans Camo Boots £30 

No Added Sugar Vardo Shorts £45 

Sandy Bay Jacket, Tootsa Macginty £32 

clothing for 

kids & babies 

This summer we team up with Millymog 

Girls 

No Added Sugar Sacha Dress £45 

Bob and Blossom Numbers T-shirts £16 

Sun-San Red Swimmer Sandals £35 

Babies 

Aden and Anais Muslim Cloths £19.95 

No Added Sugar Runaway Dress £65 

Bob and Blossom Sailor Blue Romper £20 

All items available from 

Millymog 

278 Burton Road 

West Didsbury M20 2WW 


The Pudding Club 

New boutique in Knutsford for expectant mums 

We sell basics, tailoring, work wear, casual wear, occasion 

wear and swimwear, and we understand that pregnant 

ladies need to be comfortable but still want to follow 

fashion. Our aim is to help our customers build a stylish 

‘capsule’ wardrobe to suit their budget that will see 

them through pregnancy and beyond. 

Attesa Floral Print Maternity 

Tunic £75 

Peaks of London Waterfall 

Breastfeeding Top in yellow (can 

be worn as maternity also) £95 


Fragile Floral Print Dress in 

raspberry £125 

Butter by Nadia Signature Satin 

Dress in caspian – can be worn 

in a variety of different ways and 

post-pregnancy £250 

J Brand Underbump Maternity Jeans 

in neon blue £216 

Madderson London Silk 

Charlotte Chevron Print Dress 

£275 Blossom and Bloom 

Anti-stretch Mark Oil £24 

Fragile Toga Dress in Navy with 

Eau De Nil Belt £120 

Blossom and Bloom Mother To Be Gift Set £45 

the Pudding club 

2a Minshull Street, Knutsford 

Cheshire WA16 6HG 

t 01565 755 595 

www.thepuddingclub.co.uk

Abby Allen 

Do you know what you need to do to lose weight and 

keep it off for good? Abby shares her secrets 

for successful weight loss. 

Who are you and what 

do you do? 

I’m Abby Allen from Alwoodley in Leeds, 

where I noticed many of the local women 

were losing weight and looking and feeling 

great. My mum had taken some diet pills 

called Aduki and lost a stone and a half, so 

I had to get some. I noticed a gap in the 

market for diet pills that actually worked 

without nasty side effects. 

I got some sample bottles from the 

manufacturer and put pictures of the 

scales recording my weight loss on 

Facebook. My starting weight of 9.4 

stones was going down each week; I got 

to 8.12 stone (I’m now 8.4 stone) and that 

was it. I was inundated with the mums 

at school and practically the whole of the 

north of Manchester, discussing my pills - I 

had sold out in no time at all. I knew then 

I had something that worked and people 

loved them. I call it the Aduki diet. 

Surely you can’t go from a size 

16 to a size 12 in ten weeks? 

Everyone is different. Larger people can 

lose a stone easily in a month, whereas I 

lost my first half-stone very quickly in four 

weeks, and the last half-stone came off at 

a slower, healthier rate of a pound a week. 

Prior to Aduki I could not get below nine 

stone. Like many people I love food and 

have no willpower, and I hate dieting. 

If you take Aduki along with a healthy diet, 

yes you can easily drop two dress sizes or 

a stone by taking one bottle. The tablets 

do the work for you; you will lose interest 

in food, feel fuller quicker and not crave 

or enjoy sweet things like chocolate, as 

the pills alter your tastebuds and thoughts 

towards food. My passion for carbs and 

chocolate disappeared and that change in 

my diet kick-started the weight loss. 

What’s the key to 

a successful diet? 

The experts will tell you that diet and 

exercise are the only way to lose weight, 

and yes that’s true for some people, 

but most of us lead busy lives. Add kids 

to the equation and it can then become 

impossible. Don’t get me wrong, I love to 

exercise because I feel better when I do 

and my bottom looks far better toned than 

saggy, but I certainly didn’t lose weight 

from exercise alone. 

I have no willpower at all so chocolate was 

my major downfall. A lot of my clients eat 

healthily but have a problem with portion 

control – but not any more now that they are 

on the Aduki diet supplements. Most people 

eat the wrong foods or just eat too much 

food; this is where the tablets really do the 

work for you. You will find you will be eating 

up to 40% less than you used to, so the 

weight will come off at a nice healthy rate. 

After four weeks of cutting down on chocolate and 

carbs... It was like the fat was melting away, and I loved 

buying a size 26” jeans without wearing my usual 

27” jeans with my ‘muffin top’ spilling over. 

You are what you eat? 

True. After four weeks of cutting down 

on chocolate and carbs (most days not 

having any at all) I saw my stomach 

becoming a lovely shape and the sides 

being sucked in. It was like the fat was 

melting away, and I loved buying a size 

26” jeans without wearing my usual 27” 

jeans with my ‘muffin top’ spilling over. I 

always used the excuse to myself that I’d 

had two kids, but I saw other women with 

four kids who had a better figure than me. 

Now I feel proud when I wear my bikini on 

holiday and I now have the figure I had in 

my early 20s, which is a miracle – I am 41 

this year. 

See if the Aduki is right for you. 

Call Abby on 0800 001 4364 

or email info@adukidiet.co.uk 

or visit www.adukidiet.co.uk 

PEOPLE 


HEALTH & BEAUTY 

Eating your way to 

radiant skin 

It’s not just brides who want to have radiant-looking 

skin! We all want to look and feel our best, and our 

skin can be a reflection of our health. 

Whether it is spots, eczema 

or premature ageing, it is 

common to worry about our 

skin. Looking at your diet can help in some 

cases, although there can be many factors 

that contribute to skin health. 

It is through the skin that we absorb 

Vitamin D, during the summer months. 

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that 

works alongside calcium for healthy bones 

and helps support our immune system. A 

limited amount of careful sun exposure 

will help you to top up your levels, as it 

is often not readily available in the diet. 

There are recent reports highlighting that 

many adults and children are deficient in 

this essential vitamin. Best food sources 

include oily fish, eggs and fortified drinks 

or yoghurts. 


Foods to help nourish your skin: 

w Include plenty of healthy fats in your 

diet, such as fish, walnuts, flax seeds 

(ground or soaked) or flax oil, olive oil, 

avocados. 

w Vitamin E is a natural antioxidant, so 

include foods such as sunflower seeds, 

almonds and spinach. 

w Eat plenty of zinc-rich foods, such as 

fish, lean meat, pumpkin seeds, nuts and 

wholegrains. 

Banana, Almond & 

Flax Smoothie 

blend... 

1 tbsp flaxseed oil 

2 tbsp raw almond butter 

1 small banana 

½ cup of organic apple juice 

1 cup of ice cubes 

w Try to avoid too many refined 

carbohydrates and sugary snacks. 

w Make sure your digestive system is 

working well, with enough fibre and good 

intakes of probiotic foods. 

w Keep hydrated 

with water and 

herbal teas, 

avoiding too many 

dehydrating drinks 

such as caffeine 

and alcohol. 

The essential fatty acids in the flaxseed 

oil have an anti-inflammatory effect, 

which is especially helpful for red, 

irritated, and puffy skin. For a tailored 

programme for skin health, see your 

local nutritional therapist. 

The Nutritional Therapist 

celia cooper, BSc Nutritional Medicine, MBANT

North West Gynaecology is a group 

of consultant gynaecologists 

which was formed in 2007, 

covering the complete spectrum of 

gynaecological problems. Like many 

other specialties, Gynaecology has many 

sub-specialist areas and it is no longer 

possible for one gynaecologist to be an 

expert in all these areas. We provide 

a unique service making sure that you 

see the right gynaecologist to treat your 

particular problem. Whilst providing 

comprehensive general gynaecological 

care, North West Gynaecology provides 

subspecialist gynaecological care, to 

the women of Manchester, Cheshire, 

Lancashire and the rest of the UK. 

Dr Edmond Edi-Osagie 

Dr Edmond Edi-Osagie is a 

consultant Gynaecologist with 

special interest in Infertility 

and advanced laparoscopic 

(keyhole) surgery. He provides a 

comprehensive service for Infertility 

and Advanced laparoscopic surgery. 

North West 

Gynaecology 

Dr Gail Busby 

Dr Gail Busby is a consultant 

Gynaecologist whose interests 

include Gynaecological Ultrasound 

Scanning, Outpatient Gynaecology, 

Minimal Access (keyhole) Surgery 

and Paediatric and Adolescent 

Gynaecology. 

Dr Kristina Naidoo 

Dr Kristina Naidoo is a general 

gynaecologist with a special interest 

in hysteroscopic surgery 

(minimal access surgery on the 

womb) and outpatient gynaecology. 

Dr Rick Clayton 

Dr Rick Clayton is a consultant 

gynaecologist and accredited as 

a sub-specialty trained surgeon 

in gynaecological oncology (cancer). 

He is also trained to an 

advanced level in laparoscopic 

(keyhole) surgery. 

Dr Tony Smith 

Dr Tony Smith is a consultant 

Gynaecologist whose subspeciality 

is urogynaecology and has been 

at the forefront of development of 

laparoscopic techniques (“keyhole 

surgery”) in the surgical treatment 

of prolapse and incontinence. 

BMI The Alexandra Hospital, Mill Lane, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 2PX Tel: 0161 248 2031 / 0161 428 3656 

www.northwestgynaecology.co.uk email:office@nwgyn.co.uk 


The experts in Eye Care 

Optegra consultations now available at 

Optegra Manchester Eye Hospital Didsbury, 

Optegra Prospect Eye Clinic Altrincham 

and Wilmslow Health Centre 

Call us for details on 0161 240 0700 or 0808 163 8984 

Vision experts 

Laser eye surgery 

Clarivu 

Total Vision Correction 

Medical experts 

Cataracts, Dry eye 

Macular degeneration 

Glaucoma & Retinal 

Cosmetic experts 

Hooded eyelids 

Eyelid lifts & Bags 

Blemish & Cyst removal 

optegra.com

Liberating 

& Life-Changing 

Television presenter 

Ruth Langsford has had 

her sight restored and 

no longer needs to use 

glasses or contact lenses 

thanks to revolutionary 

lens replacement surgery. 

Ruth, 52, describes the experience as 

‘liberating and life-changing’ and urges 

people to look into the procedure 

which also prevents getting cataracts. 

She explains: “Life before the surgery 

was very irritating and frustrating. It was 

particularly difficult at work if I had to read, 

just from reading autocue, interviewing 

guests, or checking facts on my notes. I 

would have to have my glasses to hand at 

all times, to put them on to read my notes 

and then take them off again.” 

Having been told she wasn’t suitable for 

laser eye surgery Ruth had given up all 

hope of life without glasses but then she 

met with the team at Optegra, who offer 

Clarivu Total Vision Correction, which 

is an alternative to laser eye surgery for 

people over 50. It corrects both long 

and short-sightedness and prevents 

cataracts in one simple, permanent lens 

replacement procedure. 

Clarivu is Optegra’s exclusive refractive 

lens exchange (RLE) – a procedure 

that involves a surgeon replacing 

the eye’s natural lens with a permanent 

and technically advanced Intra Ocular 

Lens (IOL). 

Says Ruth: “My sight with contact lenses 

just wasn’t sharp enough, so I used to mark 

up my scripts wearing glasses and then I’d 

put my lenses in for the show – but it was 

always a relief to take them out afterwards. 

In fact, after my consultation with Optegra, 

they said I had dry eyes, which is very 

common apparently, and would probably 

get worse. The surgeon also explained 

that I would never get cataracts with this 

procedure as Clarivu is an advanced form of 

cataract prevention surgery.” 

The Procedure 

The procedure itself took 15 minutes for 

each eye in two separate sessions four 

days apart. Her eyes were kept open with 

a specially designed device. 

“The device didn’t hurt at all, or pinch or 

feel heavy,” adds Ruth, “and before I knew 

it the procedure was completed. The 

operation is completely pain-free – you’re 

obviously aware that something is going 

Life before the surgery 

was very irritating 

and frustrating. It was 

particularly difficult at 

work. 

on, but I really didn’t feel a thing. I was 

in and out within two hours, and apart 

from using some anaesthetic drops for 

a few days afterwards it really was that 

straightforward. 

“The freedom from wearing glasses is 

amazing. When I used to leave the house 

my main priority would be glasses above 

wallet or keys, but now I just grab my 

bag and off I go. I don’t even think about 

it any more.” 

Mr Rob Morris, Medical Director at 

Optegra, explained: “We’re so pleased 

that Ruth is delighted with the result. 

Clarivu is a proven procedure that has 

been performed thousands of times and is 

a technically advanced and sophisticated 

development of cataract surgery – the 

world’s most frequently performed 

surgical procedure.” 

Optegra Manchester Eye hospital 

Clarivu is available at Optegra 

Manchester Eye Hospital in Didsbury. 

To book an appointment call 

0800 358 0825 


Need to see an Orthopaedic specialist? 

Shoulder • Elbow • Hand & Wrist 

Hip • Knee • Foot & Ankle 

“Our vision is that the care we give to our elite sports teams 

should be available to you.” 

Consultant Surgeons 

❍ Nick Phillips 

Shoulder & Elbow 

❍ Adam Hoad-Reddick 

❍ Len Funk 


❍ Jon Borrill 

❍ Matt Ravenscroft 


❍ Philip Turner 

❍ Mike Hayton 

Hand, Wrist & Elbow 

❍ Sanjay Anand 

Hip & Knee 

Hip & Knee Knee Knee 

For all your Orthopaedic problems please call OrthTeam on: 

0800 328 2975 www.orthteam.com 

The Alexandra Hospital, Mill Lane, Cheadle, Cheshire, SK8 2PX 

❍ Adam Watts 

Elbow, Hand & Wrist 

❍ Tim Board 

Hip & Knee 

❍ Tim Clough 

Foot & Ankle

Anil 

Jain 

What attracted you to radiology? 

The interaction with so many other disciplines 

is so varied, you can‘t get bored. Radiology 

allows me to give my best to patient care in 

a wider sense, yet focus in particular on my 

breast screening work. 

your interest in breast cancer? 

In 1993, I was a Senior Radiology 

Registrar at Withington Hospital when 

the old Nightingale Centre established its 

Breast Screening Programme. People said 

it wouldn’t last — but as it grew, so did 

my interest. 

your professional passion? 

Raising Breast Cancer Awareness and 

prevention. Culturally, my own community 

- perhaps like the poorer white community - 

manages crises well but neglects prevention. 

The key to success is early diagnosis. 

Women delay screening for many reasons, 

including fear and concern about taking time 

off work. Just as on the Indian subcontinent, 

breast cancer incidence has risen among the 

UK’s Asian women and peaks at 45 years 

old. Awareness is vital for them to attend for 

screening. 

did your own hospitalisation affect 

you? Life-threatening spinal surgery 

in June 2005 gave me an insight into 

patients’ worries and anxiety, as well as 

their need for understanding, support 

and aftercare. I put into my own practice 

what being a patient taught me. Focusing 

on procedures is vital, but so is patients’ 

The working life of caring Anil Jain comprises 

research, lecturing, hands-on clinical duties - plus his 

trailblazing Asian Breast Awareness Movement 

experience and their functionality. Patients 

need doctors to give them information and 

explanations they can understand. 

did you go privately? 

No. I went NHS and, being classed as 

urgent, waited six weeks. During that 

time both my kids fractured their limbs, so 

home life was chaotic. 

Pet hates? 

Traffic and more traffic! 

your loves? 

Natural beauty. 

What scares you? 

Violence in any form. 

What thrills you? 

Human love, empathy and compassion. 

What do you enjoy about your job? 

Meeting colleagues, patients, carers and 

seeing support for my work increase. 

any irritations? 

NHS bureaucracy – it’s reorganisation 

after reorganisation! 

your greatest influence? 

Mahatma Gandhi. 

your views on Manchester? 

A great place - but long distances and bad 

traffic. 

your happiest moment? 

My son’s and daughter’s births. 

your long-term goal? 

The full establishment of the Asian Breast 

Cancer Support Group in the hope of spreading 

this work to the Indian subcontinent. 

Words Fay Wertheimer 

Fact file 

PEOPLE 

Born and qualified in Delhi 

1989 Glasgow Western Infirmary: Radiology Registrar 

1993 Senior Radiology Registrar: Withington and 

Wythenshawe Hospitals 

1994 Consultant Radiologist 

2005 Life-changing operation 

2005 Started research into Asian breast cancer 

2006 Medical Staff Governor, UHSM NHS Foundation trust 

2007 Nightingale Centre and Genesis Prevention 

relocated to University Hospital of South 

Manchester NHS Foundation Trust 

2010 Organised National Conference addressing 

health inequalities in breast cancer care 

2011 Launched Asian Breast Cancer Support Group at 

the Nightingale Centre 

2013 Award of British Medical Association Fellowship 

Nationwide breast screening saves an estimated 

1,400 lives annually. Among the 25% of women who 

fail to attend, many are Asian. 

Wife: Eye-surgeon Sunila; son Neel 19: medical 

student in Cambridge; daughter Anu 13 


The Private GP & Night Doctor Service 

“Peace of mind for you and 

your family, at all times” 

The Surgery, 96 Church Road, Gatley, Cheshire, SK8 4NQ 

Manchester 

ENT Clinic 

“Caring for all your ear, nose 

and throat needs” 

T: 0800 656 9609 

www.manchesterentclinic.co.uk 

based at The Alexandra Hospital, Cheadle 


• 24 hrs a day - 7 days a week 

• Personal and confidential 

• Covering Hale, Wilmslow, 

Didsbury and their surrounding areas 

• Night and weekend home visits 

• Early or late same day appointments 

• Registration fee from £15 per month 

plus consultation fees 

• You can remain with your NHS GP 

• Additional surgery in Hale opening soon 

If this service is of interest 

to you or your family, 

please contact us to register. 

Dr Bruce Jobling 

0161 980 2626 

Info@ThePrivateGP.co.uk 

www.NightDoctor.co.uk 

Digestive problems 

Weight Loss 

Pregnancy & Fertility 

Menopause, PMT, PCOS 

To book an appointment contact 

Celia Cooper 

Nutritional Therapist (BSc, MBANT.) 

07802 281312 

www.celia-precioushealth.co.uk 

Jo Pallan One of the UK’s leading specialists in eyebrow threading. 

Nicky Clarke, The Avenue, Spinningfi elds, Manchester, M3 3FL 

www.jopallan.com t @jopallan tel 0844 884 2444

Need to see an 

Orthopaedic specialist? 

Shoulder 

Elbow 

“Our 

vision is that 

the care the 

elite sports person 

receives should be 

available to 

you” 

Hand & Wrist 

Hip 

Orth Team is a group of established dynamic 

Orthopaedic Consultants from the Greater Manchester 

area, who have teamed up to provide 

a high quality of Orthopaedic care in Manchester. 

Based out of BMI The Alexandra Hospital, aim to ensure 

that your injury or problem is dealt with expediently by a 

super-specialist in that area of the body. 

Our Consultant Surgeons are Fellowship trained in their area 

of special interest. 

At Orth Team we believe in providing a professional level 

of patient care from the moment you make contact with 

us to the day you are discharged. 

Our surgeons are experts in minimally invasive and arthroscopic 

surgery. We undertake research and publish our work 

Knee 

Foot & Ankle 

regularly. Our commitment to education allows us to present 

locally to GP’s and physiotherapists as well as invited lectures 

around the UK, Europe and the United States. 

Whist we treat many patients with common orthopaedic 

problems, our group has developed a super-specialist interest in 

treating elite sports injuries. As a group we provide orthopaedic 

advice and care to many of the countries professional Football, 

Rugby and Cricket Teams, and also to the English Institute of 

Sport Squads, including Olympic athletes from a variety of sports. 

Injured abroad? Need help? 

Call the on 

0800 328 2975 

07732 247 247 (Emergencies only)

Cashpoint 

For financial services 

company Cashpoint, 

there’s no place quite like 

Didsbury. 

Located in the heart of Didsbury 

Village, Cashpoint boasts an 

extensive range of services, 

including foreign exchange, pawnbroking, 

cheque-cashing, money transfers, and 

more. 

Managing director Roger O’Brien moved 

the shop from Withington to Didsbury in 

2010, with the main intention of increasing 

footfall and he hasn’t looked back since. 

“Moving to Didsbury was the best thing 

we did,” comments Roger. “When the 

prospect of having a shop right in the 

centre of the village came up, it was too 

good an opportunity to miss.” 

The site may have changed, but 

Cashpoint’s team of staff has remained 

the same, since the shop opened in 2007. 

“Debbie, Holly and Joanne have been with 

us from day one,” says Roger. “They’re 

very good, extremely competent and very 

personable.” 

The Cashpoint team is on hand to offer 

its customers many services, including 

Bureau de Change, pawnbroking (loans 

against jewellery and high-class watches) 

and the purchase of gold and silver 

jewellery. “We also offer third-party 

cheque-cashing, Western Union money 

transfer, and in conjunction with our sister 

company Goldman Sterling Limited, we 

offer international money transfer,” says 

Roger, who has been in the business 

of foreign currency and pawnbroking 

all his life. “Plus, we supply the prepaid 

MasterCards, which we sell and load; not 

many people do that.” 


Left to right Holly Wilde : assistant, Debra McDonald : manager 

Benefiting from strong footfall since 

relocating to its prime spot in Didsbury, 

the Cashpoint team also enjoys the 

sense of community the village offers. 

“The businesses here really get behind 

each other,” states Roger. “Didsbury is a 

proper village with a real community spirit 

and you don’t see that in many places 

nowadays.” 

The team has endeavoured to build a solid 

working relationship with local people and 

businesses close to the shop. Through 

marketing – a leaflet campaign twice a 

year, newspaper advertising and a board 

outside the shop informing people about 

exchange rates – Roger and his team try 

to ensure that customers have as much 

information as possible before they step 

into the shop, so they know exactly what 

Cashpoint has to offer them. 

Being part of the Didsbury Village 

community has undoubtedly helped 

Cashpoint’s business, and for that 

Roger and the girls are grateful. Looking 

Moving to Didsbury was 

the best thing we did. 

When the prospect of 

having a shop right in 

the centre of the village 

came up, it was too good 

an opportunity to miss. 

ahead, they intend to continue growing the 

business, but more importantly the plan is 

to continually improve the service the team 

offers its customers. “We are very happy with 

how things are,” says 

Roger. “It’s a pleasure 

to open that door and to 

serve the lovely people of 

Didsbury.” 

Come & see 

for the best 

rates around 

cashpoint 

724 Wilmslow Road | Didsbury M20 2DW 

0161 434 5841 

www.cashpointdidsbury.com

Location, location, 

location 

London always excites me. The hustle, the bustle, the 

food, the people and the attractions. So what better 

way than to base yourself in the thick of it? 

The five-star Radisson Blu Edwardian, 

Hampshire Hotel is a traditional, 

grand London hotel, located on the 

corner of Leicester Square – the heart of 

Theatreland, and possibly too close to the 

Häagen-Dazs café (you can never have too 

many scoops). 

Famous for hosting glitzy world film premieres 

and dazzling theatre gala nights, Leicester 

Square is one of London’s most glamorous 

destinations. The Hampshire is also 

conveniently placed for many of London’s 

popular attractions, including Trafalgar 

Square, Buckingham Palace, National Portrait 

Gallery and the West End theatres. 

Each of the 127 bedrooms is richly 

decorated with original artwork, de 

luxe fabrics, rich furnishings and marble 

bathrooms. The hotel’s 23 suites are 

dramatic creations, offering panoramic 

views of the capital. 

In-room features include flat-screen 

televisions, air-conditioning, personal 

phone number with voicemail, modem 

connection, complimentary high-speed 

wireless internet access, satellite and pay 

movies, in-room safe, mini-bar, trouser 

press and hairdryers. 

The stunning Hampshire Bar & Restaurant 

offers guests delectable dishes with a 

fusion of modern British and Mediterranean 

influences. The stylish and comfortable 

layout shares the group’s signature nod to 

the Middle East with original artworks and 

artefacts from around the globe. The bar’s 

extensive cocktail list features all the classics, 

as well as unique Hampshire Bar creations. 

Menu highlights include smoked salmon 

on potato pancake and horseradish 

cream, roast rack of lamb with minted 

herb crust and thyme-roasted potatoes 

and frozen whisky cream, served with 

prunes and Earl Grey syrup. Great value 

and attentive, friendly staff make this a 

pleasurable dining experience. The hotel 

also boasts a luxuriously spacious 100 square 

foot alfresco terrace, something that can be 

TRAVEL 

described as a rare gem in the heart of the 

city. It offers seating for up to 120 and its own 

grazing menu - ideal for drinks in the summer 

months. 

The Hampshire has a variety of conference 

and private dining facilities that are ideal 

for meetings, training courses, weddings 

and private dining. Up to 70 can be 

accommodated for dinner, or 90 theatrestyle. 

A unique feature is the spacious 

Penthouse Suite, with breathtaking views 

of London’s skyline, including the London 

Eye, Big Ben and Nelson’s Column. This suite 

is ideal for VIP meetings, formal lunches, 

dinners and weddings, and has its own 

registration area, cloakroom and facilities. 

Business services include a full-service business 

centre, rental of audiovisual equipment, mobile 

phones and videoconferencing. A fitness 

centre is located on the lower floor. 

Words: Salim Uddin-Khandakar 

Radisson Blu Edwardian, Hampshire Hotel, 

Leicester Square, London WC2H 7LH 

For reservations please call: 0207 839 9399 

For more information: 

www.radissonblu-edwardian.com/hampshire 

Facebook: RBEhotels Twitter: @RBEhotels 

Travel to London was with Virgin Trains, which runs 

services every 20 minutes to/from London Euston 

to Manchester, six and half days a week. A typical 

journey time between London and Manchester is 

just two hours and seven minutes. 


TRAVEL 

Jill Nash heads to the 

Musandam Peninsula 

to experience 

snorkelling; dhow 

cruises, mountain 

hikes and authentic 

Arabian hospitality, 

and discovers why it’s 

the perfect alternative 

to Dubai. 

Discover oman 

Explore 

The Sultanate of Oman, celebrating 42 

years of Renaissance, has so much to offer 

that it is hard to know where to begin. 

There are literally hundreds of natural and 

cultural attractions in this country - and 

the diversity of choice will make almost 

any length of holiday seem too short to 

take everything in. Its year-round sunny 

climate and six-hour flight from the UK 

make it a perfect alternative to Dubai. 

Musandam is a peninsula of steep rocks 

that juts north from the Arabian mainland 

towards Iran. Separated from the rest 

of Oman by a tribal decision in the late 

1960s, it remains an isolated, remote 

region known principally for its stunning 

fjords. Deep fjord-like channels cut into 

this rock and provide the playground for 

divers and those exploring by dhow. 

Adrenaline lovers will be spoilt for choice 

with the vast amount of activities: from 

mountain biking, wakeboarding, microlight 

flying, to the ultimate - paragliding. 


Trekking the region and the village of 

Sabatyn, 1,200 metres above sea level, 

and a scenic 4x4 drive are also sure to 

send pulses racing. 

One of the more tranquil options is to 

explore the coast by dhow. A beautiful 

wooden vessel takes you around the bays 

on a five-hour journey, which includes 

a delicious lunch; you can also spend 

time snorkelling and hand-line fishing. 

Families with children of all ages can 

enjoy the dhow, and younger children 

will love feeding local goats and making 

sandcastles on the soft, white beach. 

Scuba divers can enjoy 100 species of 

vividly coloured reef fish, hawksbills, 

green turtles and several species of

Adrenaline lovers will be 

spoilt for choice with the 

vast amount of activities: 

from mountain biking, 

wakeboarding, microlight 

flying, to the ultimate - 

paragliding. 

dolphins and whales. The area of Zighy 

Bay in Musandam is particularly renowned 

for its spectacular diverse marine life, 

ranging from exotic reef fish to schooling 

barracuda and dive sites, with an array 

of hard and soft corals splashed with 

colourful sponges. Its shallow warm 

waters make it perfect for novices too. 

As the country is filled with beautiful 

mountains, valleys, caves, deserts, 

beaches, rock parks and lagoons, you will 

be overloaded with hundreds of exciting 

options. Mix this together with luxury 

accommodation and Arabian hospitality, 

and you have all the ingredients for a 

perfect getaway. 

Stay 

The luxurious Zighy Bay is the place to stay 

in the Musandam Peninsula, and exceeds 

expectations in every way. This isolated 

and utterly tranquil corner of Oman 

seems a million miles from its bustling 

neighbour, Dubai. The resort is laid out in 

a series of 82 spacious rustic villas with 

private plunge pools, bikes, dining area 

and your own butler – it is hard to imagine 

anywhere in the world so idyllic as this. 

The Neom scented spa promises to 

relax and rejuvenate – with programmes 

ranging from detox to fitness – or for those 

wanting just a spot of pampering it offers 

singular massage therapies administered 

by skilled specialist practitioners who 

combine Eastern and Western techniques, 

such as reiki and traditional Thai. The 

beautiful setting, with private marina and 

dramatic mountain backdrop, appeals 

to honeymooners, families and groups. 

www.sixsenses.com 

Dine 

Each evening at Zighy Bay there are 

numerous dining options – ‘Sense on the 

Edge’ is on top of the mountains overlooking 

the bay, while down below the ‘Wine 

Cellar’ hosts regular wine tastings and 

wine and cheese evenings with a master 

TRAVEL 

sommelier. The traditional communal 

Bedouin-style dining experience ‘Shua 

Shack’ is held once a week on the quiet 

beach, where the senses of Arabia really 

come to life. A meze-style buffet starter 

is served on low-cushioned seating, 

followed by a 14-hour slow-cooked 

lamb, which is placed in a ‘sand-pit’ and 

excavated by chefs during dinner. With 

local music, candles in the sand and the 

sound of waves lapping the shore, this is a 

pretty awesome experience. 

Facts 

Emirates fly regular services to Dubai from 

Manchester, and Zighy Bay is a two-hour 

drive over the Oman border. Rates vary, 

but expect to pay £571 ($900) per pool 

villa per night inclusive of breakfast; local 

taxes apply. www.sixsenses.com 

Dr Jill Nash is a Cheshire-based independent travel journalist and owner of guidebook 

publishing company ‘Luxury Backpackers’. For more details of her bestselling guidebooks, 

visit www.luxurybackpackers.com 


TRAVEL 

Villa holidays with 

Organising a holiday can seem a daunting, 

time-consuming task especially when you lead a busy 

lifestyle. The team at Carrier Travel can take the weight 

off your shoulders and arrange every element of your 

trip from start to finish, meaning you can escape and 

enjoy real quality time, safe in the knowledge that 

everything has been taken care of and no detail has 

been overlooked for you and your family. 

Left to right: Sue, Gaynor, Alison, Andrea, Debra, Sarah 

Gaynor has over 20 years’ experience 

in the travel industry and has travelled 

extensively throughout Europe. One of 

her favourite destinations is Kefalonia 

with its dramatic mountains, thickly 

forested hillsides and golden beaches. 

She recommends a trip to Fiskardo, an 

enchanting seaside village with quaint 

quayside houses that date back to Venetian 

times and now house chic boutiques, 

galleries and restaurants. Kefalonia is an 

island of superb beaches, amongst which 

Myrtos stands out for the dazzling effect of 

the white limestone cliffs and the turquoise 

sea – it has been voted one of the most 

beautiful in Europe. 

Debra with a degree in Tourism Business 

Management, worked for De Vere Hotels 

and was cabin crew for Monarch Airlines 

before joining the team at Carrier Travel 

seven years ago. An absolute favourite 

destination for Debra is the Caribbean, 


having visited the Bahamas, Cuba, 

Mexico, Antigua and Barbados. Debra has 

organised many honeymoons so has a 

great portfolio of wonderful ideas for the 

special holiday. Why not enjoy the privacy 

of one of the amazing villas that our sister 

company, CV Travel, has to offer. 

Andrea has been with Carrier for over 

23 years. Our resident Egypt specialist, 

she has extensive knowledge of many 

destinations around the world. One of 

Andrea’s favourite islands is Sardinia with 

its pristine white beaches and friendly local 

hospitality. Andrea’s hints and tips would be 

that it is so easy to explore the island at 

your own pace in a hire car, stop at one of 

the many secluded beaches to cool off and 

a visit to the Gelateria to taste the amazing 

variety of flavoured ice cream is a must. 

Alison has worked for Carrier Travel for 

ten years. Recent trips have taken her to 

South Africa, Mauritius and Rome. Alison 

loves a sense of adventure and spent 

two years backpacking around Asia, 

Australia and New Zealand, so her detailed 

knowledge of destinations is exceptional. 

One of Alison’s highlights was a trip up 

Table Mountain in Cape Town. She highly 

recommends this intriguing destination 

with its diverse scenery, excellent vineyards 

and world-class food. 

Sarah joined Carrier in the early 1980’s and 

has extensive knowledge of family focused 

villa holidays to Greece, Portugal and the 

Balearic Islands of Menorca and Mallorca. 

Villas are the perfect option for flexibility. You 

can eat breakfast on the terrace, lunch by the 

pool and cook your own seafood barbecue 

whilst watching the sunset. Sarah would also 

suggest hiring your own little motorboat to 

explore those un-touched coves for a spot of 

snorkelling in the Greek Islands. 

Sue has 15 years’ travel experience, six 

with Carrier and is our Premier Aussie 

Specialist which was awarded by the 

Australian Tourist board. Sue’s passion 

for travel has taken her to some exciting 

destinations. One of Sue’s favourite 

destinations is the Lisbon coast. The 

city of Lisbon offers interesting historic 

architecture overlooked by its dramatic 

castle. It has an abundance of pavement 

cafes, street markets and a unique tram 

system. Sue recommends you take a 30 

minute train journey to the magical village 

of Sintra with its fairy tale palace. 

The team strives to provide the ultimate 

in customer care, always going one 

step further to ensure an unsurpassable 

holiday experience. 

For further information contact 

Carrier Travel on 01625 583210 

www.carriertravelagent.co.uk

carrier travel 

a cV travel Villa Holiday 

Carrier Travel are delighted 

to introduce you to our 

sister company, CV Travel. 

Choosing the perfect villa 

holiday in Corfu was how 

CV Travel started in 1972, 

and the Greek Islands 

remain the company’s 

flagship destination with a 

selection of beautiful villas 

in the very best locations in 

Corfu, Paxos, Lefkada and 

Kefalonia. 

These days, award-winning CV 

Travel’s outstanding portfolio includes 

exceptional hand-picked villas in the 

most sought-after locations worldwide, 

ranging from converted trulli houses in 

Puglia and renovated mas in Provence, to 

rural fincas in Andalucia, elegant houses in 

Marrakech and stylish fully-staffed villas in 

the Caribbean. 

A villa holiday will appeal equally to families 

looking for child-friendly accommodation – 

a villa with a private swimming pool, close 

to beaches and local restaurants - as well 

as to large groups, or several generations 

travelling together, wanting houses with 

annexes and ample space, both indoors and 

outdoors. Furthermore, there are romantic 

retreats for couples (a 13th century Saracen 

Tower on the Amalfi Coast is gorgeous!). 

The beauty of a villa holiday is that it offers 

privacy, flexibility and ample scope for 

relaxation, simply chilling out by the pool or 

sightseeing, or choosing to dine al fresco on 

the villa terrace or dine in a local restaurant. 

Each CV Travel villa is chosen for its style, 

individuality, comfort and diversity, most 

with pools, many with private cook service, 

all selected for a certain ‘wow’ factor, be it 

an outstanding view, a stunning garden, a 

quirky design or a breathtaking swimming 

pool. They are located in some of the most 

beautiful corners of Europe and beyond, 

ideal for exploring areas of extraordinary 

natural beauty, absorbing the richness of the 

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GARDEN STYLE 

not to be 

sniffed at 

I am in a friend’s greenhouse, admiring her collection 

of pretty scented leaved pelargoniums, when I am 

unexpectedly caught up in a Proustian moment and 

transported back to my wedding day, nearly thirty 

years ago. 

Everything about the day is suddenly 

memorable, from the feel of sunlight 

in the sharp breeze, to the drone of 

the city centre traffic and my enormous 

hat threatening to fly away. But what has 

prompted this vivid recollection of senses? 

It is the heady perfume of white freesias 

– that same scent that made up my 

wedding bouquet all those years ago. 

Scent is a very powerful thing – used both 

to repel and attract. Did you know, for 

instance, that the main scenting chemical 

in summer jasmine is indol, and that this 

very same chemical gives both faeces 

and vomit their characteristic pong? 

You see, it’s just a question of different 

concentrations, and the sensitivity of your 


nose. I know one sensitive lady who had to 

remove a Sorbus tree from her front garden 

as she felt like she was in a toilet every 

time she walked through it – not surprising 

as the main scent chemical in both Sorbus 

and Hawthorn is ammonia! At a lower 

concentration, ammonia can be a lovely 

perfume component - think of magnolias. 

Scent is, of course, not there just for our 

benefit. Plants use it to attract pollinating 

insects, with night-scented plants like 

honeysuckles attracting moths in the 

gloom, and brassicas emitting mustard 

oils to repel leaf-eating insects. In fact it 

is estimated that around 1.4billion tons 

of scented compounds are released into 

the air each year – a bit like living in a 

huge aromatherapy session! They are so 

concentrated in some areas of the world 

that they actually have an effect on the 

quality of light, scattering the light above 

forests thereby making them appear blue 

– just think of the Blue Ridge mountains, 

or the Smoky mountains. 

But here in my own garden, I believe 

that scent plays a very important part in 

my enjoyment of the whole gardening 

experience, and therefore should be 

carefully planned. I have many roses, but 

one of the most highly scented is the pink 

double Gertrude Jekyll, whose petals are 

so desirable that they are now being used 

in the perfume industry. I love lemon scents 

and like to include the herb lemon balm in 

the wilder border, and lemon verbena and 

lemon thyme in clay pots near a seat so that 

I can crush a leaf on a warm day and feel 

instantly refreshed. Try to make sure that you 

have something scented for each month of 

the year, whether flower or foliage, and the 

thought of inhaling its perfume will draw you 

out into the garden whatever the weather. 

My favourites include winter Viburnum 

fragrans and Daphne bholua, spring Azalea 

mollis and wallflowers, summer roses and 

sweet rocket Hesperis matronalis, and in 

autumn, honey-scented Actea simplex 

and the crushed foliage of eau de Cologne 

mint kept in a pot by the door. 

So plant something perfumed this year 

and pander to your senses - believe me, 

scent in the garden is not to be sniffed at! 

Anne Britt is a garden designer. 

For designs and classes, contact her at 

annebritt@btinternet.com

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Learn to cook healthy, 

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You don’t have to be a vegetarian to learn to cook great tasting vegetarian 

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And where better to learn than at the Vegetarian Society’s internationally 

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To book and discover more about courses to suit 

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Is it time you ‘lost the plot?’ 

Five years ago Paul King didn’t know one end of 

a vegetable from the other. Today he is an award 

winning self-confessed allotment junkie. 

In an era when many people are 

struggling to make ends meet, Paul 

and his vegetarian wife Claire, are 

able to feed themselves and their two 

young daughters with nutritious 

meals made from organic fruit, 

vegetables, salad stuff and herbs 

they have grown themselves. 

Other families struggling through the 

recession might think that ‘growing 

your own’ is a pipe dream – something 

they do on the telly. But Paul, 

inspired by his own successes and 

failures, has written and illustrated a 

superb guide to the good, the bad 

and the ugly of starting an allotment 

from scratch. 

His beautifully illustrated book ‘Lost 

the Plot’, with its down to earth 

approach to self-sufficiency, has 

already grabbed the attention of 

experts. 

It describes the family’s journey from 

taking on – as rank amateurs – a 

barren plot with an Amazonian type 

jungle to achieving their first harvest. 

Paul, a successful graphic designer 

who lives and works in Didsbury, 

says: ‘I knew nothing at all about 

growing when I took on the allotment 

– but I liked the war time ideas of 

‘Digging for victory’ and ‘Make do 

and mend’. 

‘It began with a lot of pain, hacking 

down bramble thickets and working 

through rain, wind and snow. But 

now we are almost self-sufficient as 

a family. I grow every variety of fruit 

you can mention and any vegetable 

available. Our two daughters help out 

and get fun, activity and lots of fresh 

air – and Claire cooks sumptuous 

food with the results of our work!’ 

He is the first to admit that it can be 

hard work – but says the rewards are 

enormous. 

‘Growing your own food gives loads 

of satisfaction. You know that your 

fruit and vegetables have not 

travelled either air or road miles in 

packaged conditions to reach the 

family table. 

It saves a huge amount of money on 

the weekly shop, it feels great giving 

away goodie boxes to friends and it 

educates the little ones along the 

way. 

‘It is hard work, but the rewards 

for those who do persevere are 

enormous – and that was the 

inspiration for this book’. 

The family learned that there is no 

right or wrong way to grow your own, 

and give an honest insight into the 

mistakes they made, the experience 

they gained, and the friends (and 

prizes!) they won along the way. 

It’s a funny and joyous read – so 

whether you want to have a go at 

growing your own or you would like 

a gift for a friend, this is the one for 

you. 

Lost the Plot 

Published by Allotment Junkie 

ISBN 978-0-9575812-0-3 

£14.99 + P&P

BY 

SIMON 

ROGAN 

“This is our food, our 

chef, our restaurant 

and people will come 

hundreds of miles to 

eat here” 

ANDY CRONSHAW 

Manchester Evening News 

“Manchester is a 

lucky, lucky city” 

LISA MARKWELL 

The Independent 

BOOKINGS ARE 

RECOMMENDED 

0161 236 3333 

WWW.THE-FRENCH.CO.UK

the French at 

the Midland 

The Midland Hotel opened its doors on 5 September 

1903. Throughout the years, the Grade II listed hotel 

has undergone a number of exciting changes, and 

many famous faces have walked through its doors. 

The 50-seat ‘The French’ restaurant 

has undergone a modern revamp. 

Designed by Trudi Purtill, the room has 

a neutral palette to match new chef Simon 

Rogan’s natural style. There are light wooden 

tables and chairs, pastel-green panels 

that lighten the walls, two large glittering 

chandeliers, and a beautiful carpet with a 

panelled wood-effect design. 

‘Welcoming’-renowned chef Simon Rogan’s 

culinary career started aged 17 with an 

apprenticeship under Paul Norman at 

Rhinefield House Hotel in the New Forest, 

Hampshire. Simon gained an essential 

classical grounding, remaining there for 

five years, moving from apprentice to 

chef de partie, before joining chef Jean- 

Christophe Novelli at Geddes Restaurant in 

Southampton in 1988. He started as pastry 

chef, moving to sous chef. Overall, Simon 

worked on and off for Novelli for eight years, 

at both The Maltster’s Arms in Tuckenhay, 

Devon (owned by Keith Floyd with Novelli as 

head chef), and at Gordleton Mill, in the New 

Forest. During this period he also had stints 

with Marco Pierre White and John Burton 

Race. 

Since 2009 Simon has had his own 

organic farm just outside Cartmel. In 

addition to vegetables, herbs and fruit, 

he also rears special breed pigs, chickens 

and bees (and, very soon, sheep). Simon 

also established Aulis, his research and 

design facility adjacent to L’Enclume, 

which allows the chefs to develop new 

dishes and recipes. The space also has a 

six-seat private dining table where guests 

are treated to bespoke menus. 

FOOD REVIEW 

In June 2011 Simon opened Roganic, a 

two-year ‘pop-up’, in Marylebone, London. 

The restaurant will close on 21 June 2013 

and the building will be redeveloped at the 

end of the short lease. In September 2012 

he acquired the local Cartmel village pub, 

The Pig & Whistle. 

In November 2012 the farm was extended 

to 14 acres, with not only a Cartmel site, 

but also three others in Northumberland, 

inclusive of poly tunnels and renovation 

of a large Lakeland barn. The extra land 

enables the provision of home-grown 

products in all Simon’s restaurants. 

Last month we visited Simon as he took 

over the management of two restaurants 

in The Midland Hotel. The French, which 

was one of the first UK establishments 

to be awarded a Michelin star when the 

guide was launched in 1974, opened on 

12 March 2013 as The French by Simon 

Rogan, and a second larger bar and dining 

room, Mr Cooper’s, is opening soon. 

The current menu offers modern British 

food that delivers consistently excellent 

flavours by using the best seasonal 

produce. Typical dishes include Artichoke 

broth with truffle dumplings, bacon, radish 

and hazelnut; Ox in coal oil, pumpkin seed, 

kohlrabi and sunflower shoots; 

Fresh crab, caramelised cabbage, horseradish, 

chicken skin and crow garlic; Sole fillet 

with onions, smoked scallops, parsley and 

salsify tops; Studded Cumbrian rose veal, 

blewits, split pea, sorrel and beetroot; St 

Jude, butternut, chives and walnuts, pear, 

meadowsweet, rye, buttermilk and linseeds. 

There is a serious impressive wine list, 

and with prices starting at £4 a glass or 

£25 per bottle, why not make a date for 

lunch (three courses from £29; or dinner, 

six courses from £55). 

The Midland Hotel 

Peter Street, Manchester M60 2DS 

0161 236 3333 


complete your family 

adopt with 

Manchester 

Could you provide a 

stable loving home for 

a child or children? 

Dream of having your own family? 

Already have a family but want 

to make it complete? Thinking 

of adoption, but not sure what’s involved? 

We can help you change a child’s life and 

follow your dream.... 

the children 

Nearly 100 Manchester children need 

families to give them the chance of a 

better life. They have suffered some loss 

or disruption in their young lives and 

need love, stability and a safe nurturing 

environment. 

The children come from Manchester’s 

ethnically and culturally diverse population. 

So we welcome adoptive parents from every 

community to reflect the children’s individual 

background. The children are up to eight 

years old, so we are particularly looking for 

adoptive parents for the older children. 

The children are often lively and likeable. 

Helping a child to develop and thrive in 

a happy home is a lifelong commitment 

requiring skill, energy, patience and a 

sense of humour. But changing a child’s 

life is a massive reward. 

56 l APRIL/MAY 2013 

the parents 

Martin, aged 45, and his wife Evelyn, 51, 

had their lives changed forever when they 

adopted with Manchester City Council. 

Here’s their story in Martin’s words: 

‘To be honest, I didn’t really think that 

ordinary working people like us would be 

allowed to adopt. 

Once we had decided to go with it there 

was lots of form-filling, home visits from 

social workers and interviews. 

Going to meet our oldest, Alex, for the first 

time was the most terrifying thing I have 

done. 

He was 15 months old and had been with 

his foster carer most of his life. I remember 

I squatted down to say hello and he came 

running over. He totally bowled me over. 

He was beautiful. He came to live with us 

seven days later. 

It was really strange when we brought him 

home to stay. At bedtime I carried him 

upstairs, rocked him in my arms and put 

him in his cot. We had a baby monitor on 

all night and kept looking in on him. 

Five months later Alex’s six-month-old 

brother Danny came to live with us. It was 

amazing – even though the boys hadn’t 

been together before, it was like there 

was an instant bond between them. 

When their sister Rose was born and 

placed for adoption, it tugged at our 

heart-strings – we felt that if she couldn’t 

be with her mother, she belonged with us 

and her brothers. 

So in the space of 18 months we found 

ourselves with three children. It wasn’t 

easy, but the bond I have with them is 

stronger than anything else I have known. 

Our lives now are our children. Everything 

has a purpose. Everything we do and 

everything we think about is for our 

children.’ 

Photographs posed by models. 

If you think you could provide a 

permanent family for a child or 

children who need a stable and loving 

home, find out more at 

www.manchester.gov.uk/adopt 

or telephone 0800 988 8931

Complete 

your family. 

Adopt with 

Manchester. 

manchester.gov.uk/adoption

A top performing independent 

girls’ school in Cheshire 

For more information: 01625 583028 | admissions@aesg.co.uk 

www.aesg.co.uk | Wilmslow Road, Alderley Edge, Cheshire, SK9 7QE 

Registered charity number 1006726 

Growing Pains 

We all want the best for our children. 

That might mean a private education from prep 

school right through to university. But do you 

realise that you will need pre-tax income of 

£485,000 for that journey, for each child? 

Bright Partnership: Yarmouth House, Trident Business Park, Daten Avenue, Warrington WA3 6BX. 

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Plan now, manage 

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1744_School Fees_Advertising_HandB_165x110_300 v5.indd 1 03/05/2013 15:48 


Education news 

News and achievements from the schools 

Plans approved for MHSG 

Sixth Form Centre 

The Governors of Manchester High School 

for Girls are delighted to announce that 

planning permission has been granted 

for a new state-of-the-art Sixth Form 

Centre, with an anticipated opening date 

of September 2014. 

The school is investing £3million in the 

project, and the new facilities will include 

a lecture theatre, ICT facilities, rooms 

for lessons and tutorial sessions, two 

additional science laboratories, a common 

room, a café area and a new outdoor 

quad. Construction work for the new Sixth 

Form Centre will start in July 2013. 

Headmistress Mrs Claire Hewitt said: “We 

know that our students deserve the very 

best facilities possible, and over the years 

MHSG has always sought to ensure that 

our amenities are state of the art.” 

England hockey stars for 

Stockport Grammar 

It runs in the family for sisters Holly and 

Lauren Hunt, who have both caught the 

attention of the England hockey selectors 

this year. The girls are pupils at Stockport 

Grammar School and while Holly is already 

representing her country at under-16 level, 

younger sister Lauren has been selected 

for the England under-15s training camp in 

May. They are following in the footsteps of 

older pupils Emily Spencer, who plays for 

the England under-18 team, and Martha 

Watson, who played for the England 

under-18s last year and has recently 

attended an under-21 assessment camp. 

Holly Hunt and Emily Spencer are pictured 

in their England kit, both delighted with 

their selection! 

George wins competition 

reciting Cicero 

Brilliant young academic George 

Crummack would cut a fine figure 

in Rome’s Forum after winning The 

Manchester Classical Association’s Latin 

prose-reading competition. 

The King’s School sixth form student, 

who achieved a stunning nine A*s in last 

summer’s GCSE examinations, beat top 

classical scholars from the north west’s 

leading schools in a competition to test 

the ancient arts of oratory. 

George, from Macclesfield, recited the 

speech of one of his great political heroes 

Cicero against Verres, which ultimately led 

to the corrupt politician’s conviction and 

public humiliation in 70BC. 

George, who is now studying Latin, 

French, History and Economics in the 

King’s School sixth form, said: “I admire 

Cicero greatly. He was from the most 

humble origins and his name actually 

meant chickpea in Latin, but he rose to 

gain the highest office possible of Roman 

consul. His speeches are full of intellectual 

gymnastics, sarcasm and mock sorrow 

and you have to practise, practise and 

practise again to get exactly the right 

sentiment.” 


EDUCATION NEWS 

Stockport Grammar takes flight for Cash 4 Kids 

The boys and girls from 

Stockport Grammar Junior 

School had a thrilling morning 

when they were part of Key 

103’s Cash 4 Kids Day. A 

week of fundraising activities 

FOUNDED IN 1487 


for Wythenshawe Hospital’s 

Starlight Unit culminated with 

a helicopter visit from Key 103 

DJ Mike Toolan, Coronation 

Street’s Georgia May Foote 

and pop star Shayne Ward. 

STOCKPORT 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL 

An independent school for girls and boys from 3 to 18 years 

Bursaries and music scholarships available at 11+ and 16+ 

Inspire your child 

Hale & 

Altrincham 

school bus 

now running 

Senior School Open Morning 

Saturday 21st September 2013, 9.30am - 11.30am 

Sixth Form Evening - Monday 4th November 2013, 7pm - 9pm 

Junior and Senior School Open Morning 

Saturday 16th November 2013, 9.30am - 11.30am 

Senior School Entrance Examamination 

Wednesday 15th January 2014 

Regular school day visits also available throughout the year 

Call 0161 456 9000 to arrange a visit or request a prospectus 

www.stockportgrammar.co.uk 

Landing on the school’s playing 

fields, the special guests were 

greeted by all the children, 

from the Nursery right through 

to Year 6. 

Each of the visitors answered 

questions from the pupils, 

and actress Georgia reminded 

them to “work hard and never 

give up on your dreams”, 

before signing autographs and 

whizzing off to continue their 

day of fundraising. 

Year 1 pupil Finn was “really 

excited to meet someone from 

the radio and see a helicopter 

in school!” and all the children 

enjoyed demonstrating their 

dancing skills as the guests 

arrived. 

MGS goes global 

After fundraising activities 

during a week that included a 

‘medical dress-up’ walk, firstaid 

relay races and a disco, 

the children were proud to 

have raised over £500 to help 

transform the outdoor area 

at Wythenshawe Hospital’s 

Starlight Unit into a green oasis 

of calm for young patients. 

Students at Manchester Grammar School are celebrating record 

offers this year from the UK’s and USA’s leading universities. 

Offers include 28 from Oxford and Cambridge, 13 from Imperial, 

34 from UCL, 15 from King’s College, London and 10 from LSE. 

The number of students applying to international universities 

increased hugely this year and seven boys received offers from 

American universities, including Princeton and Stanford, along 

with a further offer from McGill in Canada. 

MGS is also celebrating 30 medic offers this year, which includes 

25 doctors, four dentists and a vet!

The Manchester Grammar School 

One of the UK’s most prestigious schools 

Passion 

with an unrivalled academic record north 

of London and Oxford 

Whatever their passion you will find 

MGS boys at the top 

Call Kath Heathcote: 0161 224 7201 Ext 234 

or e-mail: k.t.heathcote@mgs.org 

mgs.org @mgsmagic 

Sam Heath - Selected from 1,200 entries as one of eight UK 

finalists in International Linguistics Olympiad

BURSARIES 

AVAILABLE 

Single Sex or 

Co-Education? 

Wilmslow Prep offers 

the best of both 

We’ve always believed that children learn best in a nurturing, 

family oriented environment. But we also know that boys and 

girls learn at different rates and in different ways. 

That’s why, when our first boys start in our Early Years 

classes this year they’ll be taught the core subjects separately 

as they move in to Juniors, giving them the best possible 

preparation for senior school. So all our pupils can enjoy a 

mixed environment and benefit from a single sex education. 

This year our Form 6 pupils achieved a 100% success rate 

in their independent senior school entrance exams. 

Grove Avenue, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5EG 

www.wilmslowprep.co.uk 


For more information please call: 

01625 524246 

email: secretary@wilmslowprep.co.uk 

You can register for open mornings and 

taster days on our website. 

For details of upcoming 

Open Days please visit 

our website 

Get Set For Success 

How ‘Tis does the your Season... 

This September 

For child’s Smart story Schooling start? 

Affordable Independent Education 

for Boys and Girls ages 3-11 

Average Class Size - 14 Pupils or Less Individual Attention 

Quality Teaching Term-time Care Available 8am-5.30pm 

Full & Part-time Nursery with Nursery Grant Discount 

Accepting Early Years applications now 

Open for school tours over the holidays 

To request a prospectus or book a visit call 

0161 432 0532 email office@stellamarisschool.co.uk 

or visit www.StellaMarisSchool.co.uk 

STELLA MARIS SCHOOL 

St John’s Road, Heaton Mersey, Stockport, SK4 3BR 

Registered Charitable Trust Number 505848 

Book a 

character for 

your child's 

party 

Join us on 

for latest special 

offers and events 

Corner of King Street 

West and Chestergate 

Stockport 

SK3 0DY 

0161 477 2225 

PLAY CENTRE 

Focusing on Fun 

Friendly relaxed café 

Fantastic parties at incredible prices 

Exclusive hire available 7 days a week 

Regular toddler sessions including 

arts, crafts, music and movement 

Fun, after-school r-school r activitie activities 

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Exciting play frame with daring 

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Play group room packed with 

toys, dressing up and role play fun. 

Minutes walk from Stockport 

town cent centre with ample free parking 

Free ee WiF WiFi 

Pizza making parties availabl available 

Join us for messy play on the last 

Friday of each month 

For a fabulous, fun filled outing 

www.zoomplaycentre.co.uk e.co.uk | info@zoomplaycent 

info@zoomplaycentre.co.uk

Paul Berry 

After 17 years in teaching, high-octane 

headmaster Paul Berry knew instantly 

The Ryleys was where he wanted to be. 

Ucannily in tune with 

the 1877-established 

prep school‘s ethics, 

Paul blends 21st-century 

educational perspectives 

with many traditional values. 

Always game, at 24 he had 

been his school’s sole male 

member of staff – and he’s 

no slave to PC. He bemoans 

the lack of common sense 

pervading present-day society, 

quipping that restrictions 

on schoolyard conkers and 

snowballing breach children’s 

basic rights and says: “It‘s 

about balance, responsibility 

and risk assessment. Had I 

been cautioned for comforting 

and putting my arm round that 

first pupil with a cut knee, I’d 

have left the profession there 

and then. We’re entrusted with 

parents’ greatest treasure - 

their children. We must offer 

what’s best for each child.” 

Aims 

Breathing sport like oxygen, 

this dynamo is determined 

his 3 to 13-year-old charges 

develop both academically 

and personally. Children 

learn hands-on about food 

production. They collect eggs 

from the school’s hens and 

consume their own schoolgrown 

vegetables. Older pupils 

are encouraged to interact 

regularly with younger ones. 

Paul hopes to send youngsters 

onto the next stage of their 

education as confident, 

enthusiastic and caring individuals 

who are ready to grasp every 

opportunity available to them. 

Destined to teach – and 

work together 

From their student days 

onwards, the Berrys have 

always worked in education, 

but until their boarding-school 

experience at St Anselm in 

Bakewell, co-working was not 

on the cards. After all, Paul 

taught the full age range and 

Jane focused on the young. 

Paul’s up with the lark and 

Jane‘s a night-owl. Farmer’s 

lad Paul likes things rural – to 

him, Alderley‘s a cityscape 

– and Sheffield-lass Jane’s 

tastes are urban. But as St 

Anselm’s former school deputy 

couple, houseparents and role 

models par excellence, their 

working partnership coalesced 

Paul hopes to send youngsters onto 

the next stage of their education as 

confident, enthusiastic and caring 

individuals who are ready to grasp 

every opportunity available to them. 

and continues here - residing 

‘en famille’ at The Ryleys. 

Alderley Edge 

4.30am jogger Paul finds 

Alderley’s dawn silence broken 

only by the occasional latenighter 

stumbling home – quite 

a contrast with the bustle 

of Bakewell’s early-morning 

runners and herdsmen. Jane 

finds herself in food, family and 

shopping heaven. 

Principles 

Sincere, competitive and 

compassionate Paul sums 

up: “I want children to gain 

confidence, to be optimistic and 

have fun. These attributes lead 

quite naturally to application and 

achievement.” How right he is. 


Fact file 

1971 Born Andover, Dorset 

1992-95 BSc Sports and Exercise Science 

Manchester Metropolitan 

University 

1996 Qualified teacher 

1996 Senior School PE/Maths/ 

Psychology - Hampshire 

2002 Director of Studies: Boys’ Games - 

Dorset Prep School 

2007 Deputy Head; Sheffield Primary 

School 

2008 Deputy Head: Bakewell: co-ed 

boarding school - wife Jane 

matron 

2012 Headteacher: The Ryleys, Alderley 

- max 340 children 

Jobs Jousting Stuntman: Lifeguard: 

Swimming Teacher: Barman: 

Riding Instructor: Groom: Chairman 

University Weights Club : College 

Conservation Society founder 

Interests Every sport conceivable!: Music: IT 

Family Married to early years teacher 

Jane. Children: Evie, 5, 

and James, 9 

PEOPLE 



EMPLOYMENT LAW OR EMPLOYMENT CHORE? 

FoxWhitfield specialises in all aspects of employment law. We provide practical employment law solutions for 

employees and all sizes of employers in the North West and nationally. 

Employment Tribunal Representation 

Claims negotiation 

Drafting and negotiating compromise agreements 

Drafting and advising on Employment Contracts, Service Agreements and Handbooks 

Independent mediation of employment disputes 

Managing sickness absence and disciplinary and grievance procedures 

Contact us to discuss our fixed and capped price arrangements 

We take the uncertainty out of legal costs 

Adamson House, Towers Business Park, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester, M20 2YYTel: 0161 283 1276 

www.foxwhitfield.com 

Fox Whitfield is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority its principal is Paul Whitfield - Roll number: 279343 

K I N G ST R E E T 

TAT TO N ST R E E T 

But we’ll still be on your doorstep 

From Monday 13 May 2013 our Knutsford office has relocated 

from King Street just over to Tatton Street, so if you need us, 

we’ll still be just around the corner. 

Weightmans LLP Royal Court, Tatton Street, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 6EN 

Tel: 01565 634 234 Fax: 01565 652 711 DX: 22959 

www.weightmans.com 

TAT TO N ST R E E T 

FREE 

LEGAL 

ADVICE 

CLINIC 

COME I N AN D TAL K 

T O O U R E X P E R T S

The age of 

online 

accounting 

Only a month after the launch of real-time 

PAYE, Exchequer Minister David Gauke has 

suggested that a focus on online administration 

could continue into the not too distant future with 

the launch of personal online tax accounts. 

This will come as welcome news to 

many people who have watched 

an HMRC Tax Return letter drop 

through their letterbox over the past few 

weeks. If the system comes into effect, 

an online account will mean better 

information will become available for 

personal taxpayers tackling the arduous 

task of completing their tax return in 

future years. In a similar way to an online 

bank account, taxpayers will be able to 

view individual information and details on 

where their tax pounds have been spent 

at the click of a button. 

The RTI system was considered unrealistic 

by many, and it was suggested that small 

businesses in particular would struggle to 

meet its requirements. In light of these 

criticisms, HMRC has now relaxed the 

criteria for businesses with fewer than 50 

employees, permitting them to continue 

to file payrolls monthly until 5 October. 

The aim is to provide a permanent solution 

over the next six months. 

taX 

tiP 

Full compliance with the 

rules and regulations of 

the new RTI system can 

be a challenging task. 

Make the transition easier by ensuring that 

all your employee records are up to date. 

Similarly, the new Universal Credit 

initiative is being launched across Greater 

Manchester in stages, starting this month. 

This new system merges all benefits into 

one monthly payment and is now being 

run as an online-only claiming process, 

with accounts also managed online. 

By managing claims online, benefits can be 

automatically adjusted, dependent on the 

earnings that employers enter into their RTI 

system. This will greatly benefit those whose 

working hours fluctuate from week to week 

and who currently have to make new claims 

under the old benefits system. 

taX 

tiP 

With an emphasis on 

people being better off 

in work than on benefits, 

millions of people who 

were previously not entitled to Child Credit 

may now be eligible. Check what you are 

entitled to. 

If the hassle of bookkeeping wears you 

down, you can use Sterling Partners’ 

online package that allows you to access 

your company’s financial information 

securely and update it from anywhere as 

long as you have access to the internet. 

The mobile application that comes with 

the accounting package allows you to 

update your information on the go, saving 

you time and minimising that nagging 

concern over incidental receipts. 

Ideal for any small to medium-sized 

businesses, this cost-effective solution 

is easy to use and eliminates the need 

to upgrade or worry about changes from 

HMRC, such as RTI, Universal Tax Credit 

and changes to tax rates. 

To discuss your individual requirements with 

one of our experts please contact us on 

0161 446 2112. 

www.sterlingpartners.co.uk 

email katy@sterlingpartners.co.uk 


Start of the 

Industrial 

Revolution 

William Fox, 

founder of 

Slater Heelis & 

Co starts legal 

practice 

The Times 

published for 

the first time 

Act of Union 

creates the 

United 

Kingdom 

Slave trade 

is abolished 

A relationship that has 

endured for 240 years. 

Call our team on 0161 969 3131 or send 

us an email to intouch@slaterheelis.co.uk 

www.slaterheelis.co.uk 

Manchester 

becomes a city 

Matrimonial 

Causes Act 

comes in and 

divorce courts 

are set up 

Our enduring success is due to the strength of relationship we foster with our clients 

and the quality and value for money service we provide. The Slater Heelis name is 

synonymous with expertise, experience and legal acumen and our team has been 

built to support you with any and all of your legal matters, whether it’s routine or a 

one off event.

Beatrix Potter 

marries 

William Heelis 

Wartime 

rationing 

begins 

Education Act 

leading to free 

primary and 

secondary 

education 

for all 

Mike Fox 

Elizabeth II 

is crowned 

Queen 

Local 

Government 

Act creates 

Greater 

Manchester 

The XVII 

Commonwealth 

Games held in 

Manchester 

Mike Fox 

is Managing 

Partner of 

Slater Heelis 

We pride ourselves on being easy to work with; a team which offers genuine 

support and advice whilst being committed to getting things done to protect your 

best interests. Our specialists will always be clear on the advice they give and on 

legal fees charged, so you know exactly where you stand. 

It is important to us that you choose a lawyer who makes you feel confident and 

comfortable when you are in unfamiliar territory whether the legal issues affect your 

business or your family. We understand that legal matters can be daunting and 

we’re here to guide you through each step. After all we want to continue our long 

held tradition of building a relationship that lasts.

PEOPLE 

adell Harper 

Life change 

The removal of a benign neck tumour in 

2009 left gutsy Adell Harper with a left 

arm paralysis and permanent 

pain. Resembling a stroke, 

her symptoms prevented this 

self-made, single mum from 

performing most hands-on 

duties at her own nursery. 

She required her daughter’s 

help to bathe and 

dress and faced 

a housebound 

future. 

Solution 

Luckily, decades in business had honed 

her survival instincts. As the NHS offered 

very little post-operative rehab, Adell 

researched, found her own physiotherapist 

and regained functionality. She’s adamant 

other’s should follow suit and seek out 

and work with a physiotherapist who’s 

skill is relevant to their disability. 

Keen to raise the profile of physiotherapy, 

she says: “I presented as a stroke patient 

but hadn’t had a stroke. I learned to 

unlock every joint and plan every 

movement –whether it was to walk, move 


my arm or use deodorant. I still do those 

exercises daily.” 

But even when she’d improved, it still 

took a harrowing 30 minutes to extricate 

herself from her daughter’s basque she’d 

tried on for fun! 

Conscientious 

Life coaching and career mentoring, 

for females in particular, were natural 

professional and personal progressions for 

Adell. As an employee, she’d risen through 

the ranks in beauty care. In marketing, 

she’d obtained national TV and broadsheet 

press coverage for her nursery bosses. As 

a caring employer her painstaking staff 

training was geared to providing people 

not merely with a job but a career. At 

the House of Rompa nursery, Adell’s 

teeny charges are introduced to French 

and Spanish and, to broaden their minihorizons, 

the plight of their unfortunate 

African peers and the value of fresh water 

are clearly explained to these little ones. 

St James’s Club 

A regular at St James’s Club’s weekly 

Rotary and Trailblazers meetings. Adell’s 

encounters with disability motivated her 

proposal for Manchester Rotary to sponsor 

and mentor Sale’s 15-year-old triathlete 

Craig McKenzie. He’s now preparing for 

Rio de Janeiro’s Paralympic Games - and 

the first Paralympic triathlon too. 

Advice 

Four years on and still relearning her life, 

Adell advises: “If you have a recurrent medical 

problem, don’t be fobbed off with a diagnosis 

of stress. Push for a second opinion. I had pins 

and needles in both hands for months. The 

cause was spinal - not stress!” Take heed - 

from one who has really overcome. 


Photographs Alejandro Fidalgo Garcia 

Fact file 

Born in Stockport: 

1965 Hollins College hairdressing and beauty 

therapy 

1968 Skin product tester Geigy Pharmaceuticals 

1970 Beauty department Harrods; Manager Dickens 

& Jones Richmond 

1972-86 Owner La Femme Beauty Salon Alderley Edge 

- nationwide clientele for salon’s trailblazing 

treatments 

1983 Alexia born 

1986 Kids Unlimited PR and Marketing Wilmslow 

1989 The House of Rompa Nursery, Wilmslow - 

partnership 

1992 Qualified as Further Education teacher - 

beauty and mentoring 

2009 House of Rompa sole owner 

2009 Qualified life coach

competition 

Shave like Bond 

James Bond 

Figures from online shaving products 

retailer The Shaving Shack show 

sales of cut-throat razors jumped by a 

whopping 405% following the release of the 

latest James Bond film Skyfall. 

During a scene in Skyfall, British actress Naomie 

Harris gives 007, played by Daniel Craig, a close 

shave using a cut-throat razor, whispering in his 

ear “Sometimes the old ways are the best” as 

she performs the shave. 

Premium grooming brand The Bluebeards Revenge 

is offering our readers the opportunity to shave like 

007 with this cut-throat ‘shavette’ razor gift set. 

The gift set contains a cut-throat ‘shavette’ razor, 

an all-important shaving brush, luxury shaving 

cream and soothing post-shave balm. 

a33122 MRR Didsbury Mag Ad SAL 29/04/2013 15:01 Page 1 

Disney characters and artwork © Disney, Disney/Pixar characters © Disney/Pixar. 

SALFORD QUAYS 

The shavette is a close relative of the straight 

razor, the difference being that the blades can 

be changed, just like a safety razor. This means 

you don’t have to worry about stropping and 

sharpening but you can enjoy the closeness of a 

straight razor shave! 

The Bluebeards shaving set brings back the 

thrills and spills of old-fashioned cut-throat 

shaving for real men - but with a modern twist. 

For more information on The Bluebeards 

Revenge and its range of male grooming 

products, visit www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk 

www.shaving-shack.com 

FAMILY TICKETS AVAILABLE - SAVE £10 * 

Thu 25th – Sat 27th July 2013 

To book tickets visit www.thelowry.com/family 

or call 0843 208 6010 

TO ENTER 

To stand a chance of winning a Bluebeards 

shaving set, answer this question: 

Which British actress gives James 

Bond a cut-throat shave in Skyfall? 

A) Naomie Harris 

B) Kelly Brook 

C) Helen Mirren 

Email your answer with Bluebeards Revenge in 

the subject field to winner@salutions.co.uk by 

31 July 2013 or by postcard to Bluebeards 

Revenge Competition, Salutions Limited, 

676 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester 

M20 2DN. Usual competition rules apply. 

* Min. of 4 tickets, max. of 9 tickets 

per family. Not valid for VIP seats. 

Additional tickets can be purchased 

at a discounted rate of £2.50 off per 

ticket. Booking fees may apply. 

JUNE/JULY 2013 I 1 


Your wedding 

preparations 

simply will not be 

complete without the 

procurement of at least 

one of these big dayrelated 

gadgets. 


Words John Waddington 

Veho Qudo Digital Photo Album 

Here’s a great way to store and display 

all those precious Wedding Day pics. The 

Veho Qudo eight-inch digital photo album 

has 2GB of internal memory, allowing you 

to store up to 2,000 photos, and has an 

SD card slot allowing you to expand the 

memory by a further 16GB. That’s a total 

of around 20,000 images. Looking through 

that lot would certainly keep you busy 

when you get back from your honeymoon! 

£99.95, veho-uk.com 

Tulip Corkscrew 

All the little costs of a wedding can start to add up, so 

here’s a real money-saver. This tulip corkscrew can double 

up as a floral centrepiece for your tables and a contraption 

to extract those pesky corks from your bottle of wine. 

Real flowers may be fragile but this corkscrew is rugged 

enough to use on the toughest corks. Simply screw the 

tulip stem into your cork and press down on the four petals 

to easily prise the cork from the bottle. 

£9.24, amazon.co.uk 

Boots Essentials single-use camera 

Yes, Yes, I know everyone has a camera 

on their phone/wristwatch these days, and 

disposable cameras might seem terribly 

old-fashioned, but that’s part of the charm. 

How about giving one of these to each one 

of your wedding guests and asking them to 

return the little plastic snappers at the end of 

the night. Hey presto: an instant album full of 

totally fun and unexpected friend-generated 

pics. £7.50, Boots 

Apple iPod Touch 

Of course you will need to have some 

incidental music ready on the big day to 

fill the awkward silences between the 

speeches, and what better device to utilise 

than the new iPod Touch. Ultra-slim and 

ultra-lightweight, it won’t make too much of 

a bulge under your dress/suit and features a 

super sleek and crystal clear four-inch retina 

display. It also serves as a back-up if your 

DJ lets you down. £329, Apple 

USB Cuff links 

Introducing the perfect pair of cuff links 

for your special day. These natty little cuff 

links are not only personally engravable, 

but feature fully functional 2GB USB drives 

making it possible for you to keep all those 

wedding snaps safe and get them uploaded 

to Facebook before the honeymoon has 

even begun. Not to mention a safe place to 

keep an electronic copy of that all-important 

speech! £65, cufflinks.com 

Palm Z22 Handheld PDA 

On the run-up to the big day, if there’s 

one thing you need to be, it’s organised. 

From arranging the flowers to booking your 

romantic wedding night hotel, there are 

a hundred and one things that you could 

forget. That’s where the Palm Z22 handheld 

PDA comes in. It’s an electronic organiser 

that will let you keep track of everything 

smoothly and efficiently. Phew! 

£260, Amazon.co.uk

Music & Lyrics in association with The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton present 

Sta ring 

Based on the 

Sholem 

Aleichem Stories 

By Special Permission of 

Arnold Perl 

Book by JOSEPH STEIN 

Music by JERRY BOCK 

Lyrics by SHELDON HARNICK 

Produced on the New York Stage by HAROLD PRINCE 

Original New York Stage Production 

Directed and Choreographed by 

JEROME ROBBINS 

Mr Robbins’ Original Direction and Choreography 

reproduced by CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD 

PAUL MICHAEL GLASER as Tevye 

This production presented by permission of JOSEF WEINBERGER LIMITED 

on behalf of MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL of New York 

Directed and Choreographed by 

CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD 

TUE 29 OCTOBER – SAT 2 NOVEMBER 

Tue & Fri 7.30pm, Wed, Thu & Sat 2pm & 7.30pm 

Tickets £24 - £37 • Concessions £3 off except Fri & Sat 7.30pm 

0843 208 6010 • Groups 10+ 0843 208 6003 • thelowry.com 

Telephone & online bookings are subject to a per ticket booking fee. There is no booking fee for tickets purchased in person at The Lowry Box Office.


a taste of 

Sweden 

Beautiful Swedish cider Rekorderlig has teamed up with Great 

Northern and pop-up pioneers Heart Soul Rock & Roll to bring a 

taste of Sweden to Manchester this summer. 

The beautiful Swedish Rekorderlig Summer Garden is now open in 

Great Northern Square offering a Swedish-inspired garden space 

for fashionable, fair-weathered drinkers. 

The garden is a beautiful Swedish haven with an inviting chillout 

area to reflect the easy-going Swedish way of life. Revellers 

can relax in the garden, which features day chairs, picket fencing, 

parasols and a garden games area - perfect for playing a spot of 

Kubb (a traditional Swedish garden game). 

The log cabin bar will be offering a full range of refreshing cider 

flavours all day long, as well as an innovative range of Rekorderlig 

cider cocktails and new Swedish lager, Abro. 

Also on board are the creators of Manchester’s infamous Liquor 

Trails - The Liquorists - who have created a delicious summer 

cocktail menu using the crisp and refreshing Rekorderlig ciders as 

the main ingredient. The Liquorists have educated and activated 

the taste buds of Manchester for years and have never failed to 

deliver a range of great-tasting drinks. 

Come rain or shine this summer in Manchester, the Summer 

Garden will be hosting a range of special events, Swedish 

barbecues, ping-pong tournaments and music events! The garden 

will be keeping Manchester updated with its events calendar 

through Twitter and Facebook, and will be holding competitions 

for drinkers, fashion lovers and fans of the great outdoors! 

Opening: Thurs 4-10pm, Fri: 4-11pm, Sat: 2-11pm, until Sept.

Festival Highlights 

Revealed! 

Simon Armitage heads 

stellar line-up at 

Didsbury Arts Festival 

Sat 22-Sun 30 June 

Poet Simon Armitage, Manchester 

jazz star Matthew Halsall, writer 

Jackie Kay and internationallyacclaimed 

pianist, Kathryn Stott, will 

provide some of the highlights during 

Didsbury Arts Festival 2013. 

The annual showcase of talent, now in 

its fifth year, will take place from 22 – 30 

June, with more than 100 events and 

exhibitions taking place all over Didsbury. 

Featuring for the first time an extensive 

fringe programme, this year’s festival will 

represent a huge range of the arts from 

music, theatre, dance and comedy to 

visual arts, crafts, writing and film – all 

happening at local venues! 

One of Britain’s best-loved contemporary 

poets, Simon Armitage will close the festival 

on Sunday 30 June with readings from his 

poetry and his latest book, Walking Home, 

a humorous account of his trek along the 

Pennine Way. A touch of brass will provide 

a fitting musical accompaniment, in what 

promises to be an unforgettable evening at 

Didsbury Baptist Church. 

A dazzling talent on the UK jazz scene, 

musician Matthew Halsall will be raising the 

roof at Didsbury Baptist Church on Friday 

28 June, performing tracks from his latest 

album, the appropriately-named Fletcher 

Moss Park, accompanied by his own band. 

Kathryn Stott, returns this year with a 

host of musical luminaries, including 

the astonishing, young, violin virtuoso, 

Venezuelan, Giovanni Guzzo. Kathryn 

Stott & Friends will perform at Emmanuel 

Church on Thursday 27 June in aid of 

Francis House Children’s Hospice. 

Another DAF stalwart, Jackie Kay, is 

making a welcome return as a special 

guest of Manchester’s Poets & Players 

(Emmanuel Church, Saturday 29 June) 

With music from Chris Davies, cellist 

Sarah Moody and friends. 

Among the many other highlights is a 

Short Film Showcase, a classical concert 

performed by students of Chetham’s 

College and a promenade theatre 

production of The Turn of the Screw, 

intriguingly staged in the house and 

gardens of the historic Old Parsonage. 

Don’t miss the opening weekend and lots 

of fun for all the family, kicking off with a 

craft and buskers’ fair outside Didsbury 

Library (Saturday 22 June). Enjoy art 

on the railings and live music from local 

bands and artists in the Creative Space in 

Fletcher Moss Park on Sunday afternoon 

(23 June). There will also be poetry of a 

different kind from local school pupils! 

There are some surprises in store, with 

a gigantic pink pig taking up residence 

outside Didsbury Library on Saturday 

(29 June)! The beautiful Parsonage 

Gardens will be the focus for family 

fun on the closing day of the Festival 

(Sunday 30 June) with an entire afternoon 

programme of puppet theatre, walkabout 

puppets, Punch & Judy and storytelling. 

Bring a picnic and blanket and get ready to 

meet the giant, flying Dodo and a flock of 

cheeky, tropical birds and to follow Mother 

Hen on a mystery journey. 

Most events free; some ticketed 

www.didsburyartsfestival.org 

DAF 2013 is sponsored by Aba Quality 

Monitoring Ltd, Manchester City Council 

and Siemens. 


Reviews 

Words John Waddington 

DVDs 

I GIVE IT A YEAR 

I Give It A Year is a brandnew 

comedy from the writer 

of Borat and Bruno that lifts 

the veil on the realities of the 

first year of marriage. Starting 

where other romantic comedies finish, I Give It A 

Year asks what happens after the epic romance and 

the fairytale wedding, when the confetti has been 

recycled and the presents packed away. 

TO ThE WONDER 

To The Wonder is the beautiful 

and acclaimed latest offering 

from Terrence Malick, the 

legendary director of The Tree 

of Life and Badlands. Neil is a 

man torn between the love of two women, Marina 

and Jane, while his doubts about life and love are 

reflected in the crisis of faith experienced by Father 

Quintana, who only sees pain and the loss of hope 

in the world. A romantic, sorrowful and moving film. 

FOR ELLEN 

Aspiring rock star Joby Taylor 

finally agrees to sign divorce 

papers with his estranged wife 

but discovers he is about to forfeit 

all custody of his six-year-old 

daughter Ellen. Even though he has never been in his 

daughter’s life, Joby suddenly realises he’s not ready to 

give up his right to fatherhood, and aided by his goodnatured 

lawyer sets across a wintry US landscape to try 

and see her before it is too late. 

FILMS 

AFTER EARTh 

Director: M Night Shyamalan 

Sci-fi odyssey ‘After Earth’ follows Cypher and his son 

Kitai, galactic adventurers who make an unscheduled 

stop on Earth when their spaceship crashes. Finding 

themselves on a planet evacuated by the human race 

and now ruled by a super-evolved animal species, the 

pair must undertake an epic and perilous journey to call 

for help, with each depending on the other for survival. 

The ever-dependable Will Smith shines in this classic 

slice of sci-fi. 

A hAUNTED hOUSE 

Director: Michael Tiddes 

Hilariously spoofing the ‘camcorder horror’ genre, A 

Haunted House tells the story of what happens when a 

lovestruck young couple realise they have an unwelcome 

house guest. Starring Marlon Wayans, Essence Atkins 

and Cedric the Entertainer as the hapless priest brought 

in to rid their home of the troublesome demon, A Haunted 

House promises screams of laughter all the way. 


Music 

STEVE MARTIN & 

EDIE BRICkELL 

Love Has Come For You 

Some straight-up banjo pickin’ 

bluegrass from that Steve 

Martin, and US county/folk star 

Edie Brickell. The banjo has always been a part of 

Steve Martins life, so this isn’t just a case of ‘actor 

tries his hand at music’ (hello Keanu Reeves). These 

are really well-written songs, played impeccably and 

with passion. However, the album is let down by 

overly slick production - big budgets don’t always 

mean great records. 

MIChAEL BUBLé 

To Be Loved 

Everyone’s second-favourite 

crooner, Micky Bubbles just 

keeps setting them up and 

knocking them down, hitswise. 

Already a number one bestseller, the lovable 

lothario’s new album has enough light jazz ballads 

and up-tempo swing-dance numbers to keep any 

wedding disco dance floor packed. Whether you 

love him or hate him, you’ve got to admit the boy 

can sing. 

PhYLLIS hYMAN 

Goddess Of Love ~ 

Expanded Edition 

This classic piece of early 80s 

soul finally gets a CD reissue, 

with three bonus tracks! 

Legendary soul producer Thom Bell’s production 

work on the six songs provides Phyllis with the 

perfect setting for her distinctive vocal style – a 

fusion of pop, soul and jazz. Highlights include 

brilliantly orchestrated ‘Your Move’, ‘My Heart’, the 

poignant ‘Falling Star’, and the slice of classic Philly 

soul,‘We Should Be Lovers’. 

ThE BIG WEDDING 

Director: Justin Zackham 

Madcap romantic comedy ‘The Big Wedding’ invites 

us to a wedding with a difference, where separated 

couple Don and Ellie, played by Robert De Niro and Diane 

Keaton, are forced to reunite and play husband and wife 

at their son’s big day. But as the families gather, cracks 

soon begin to show in the proud parents’ charade, with 

hilarious consequences. 

FILMS 

After Earth 

A Haunted House 

Books 

ThE FOSTER hUSBAND 

Pippa Wright 

Kate left her seaside home-town of Lyme Regis 

for the bright lights of London when she was 

18, and never looked back. She had it all: the 

glamorous career, the lovely house, the gorgeous 

husband. But now she’s back, and living in her 

dead granny’s bungalow. Worse still, she’s forced 

to share the bungalow with Ben, the clueless and 

domestically challenged fiancé of her bossy sister 

Prue. Of course, you don’t have to be Mystic Meg 

to predict that romance ensues. 

ThE WhITE PRINCESS 

Philippa Gregory 

The haunting story of the mother of the Tudors, 

Elizabeth of York, wife to Henry VII. The young 

princess Elizabeth faces a conflict of loyalties 

between the red rose and the white. Forced 

into marriage with Henry VII, she must reconcile 

her slowly growing love for him with her loyalty 

to the House of York, and choose between her 

mother’s rebellion and her husband’s tyranny. 

Makes today’s royalty look positively boring. 

ONE WOMAN TOO MANY 

Ruby M Ayres 

A timely reprint of one of Ayres’ classic romantic 

novels. Although Ayres was known primarily for 

her romance titles, she also wrote serials for 

the Daily Chronicle and Daily Mirror, as well as 

motion pictures in the United States and England. 

She is regarded as one of the most popular and 

prolific romantic novelists of the 20th century, 

and this is one of her best works, issued in a very 

nice classic-style jacket. 

The Big Wedding

While you were out... 

Blood On The Tracks 

Bob Dylan 1975 

There is no argument that Bob 

Dylan is a musical legend and a 

songwriter of poetic lyrical genius. 

He has a multitude of classic ‘must have’ 

albums to his name (Blonde On Blonde, 

Highway 61 Revisited, Time Out Of Mind, 

to name but a few) but, there is also no 

doubt he is rather an acquired taste. 

In my early musical years I recall being 

much more drawn to the thrashing 

guitars on my parents’ Led Zeppelin 

albums and the mind-warping sounds of 

their Pink Floyd collection rather than the 

irritating screeching of that scruffy Dylan 

bloke who, after all, couldn’t even sing! 

However, similar to my development for a 

love of single malt whisky and evolution 

from drinking sweet cider to cask ales, I 

have grown to appreciate the rough but 

deep quality of Dylan, and a large part 

of this education is due to Blood On The 

Tracks. 

Though not as famous as some of his 

earlier recordings, this album, recorded 

in 1975, signalled his return to Columbia 

records after a rather fallow period 

of experimentation. It showcases his 

majestic storytelling which, to my mind, is 

his real genius, surpassing even his earlier 

acclaim as a protest singer. 

The themes of this record are anger, 

heartache and pain, which have almost 

universal resonance with most people 

some time in their 

lives. The album 

opener, ‘Tangled Up 

In Blue’ chronicles a 

ragged relationship 

and is followed by 

the seven-minute 

narrative of ‘Simple 

Twist of Fate’, 

which describes 

a desperate love 

story of life’s fitful 

nature and the 

lost opportunities that 

litter our lives. The vitriolic name-calling 

of the searing ‘Idiot Wind’ beautifully 

articulates, in the most acutely painful 

manner, the frustration and pain of his 

marital breakdown but, paradoxically, it 

also serves as a cathartic soul-cleanser. 

The medicine may be bitter, but it does 

work! 

It isn’t all dark, though, as Dylan allows 

some light to shine through with the 

beautiful ‘Shelter From The Storm’ and 

‘You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When 

You Go’. They speak of the all-engulfing 

nature of love and its precarious status. 

Love is great but never forget, Dylan 

reminds us, that it could all end… 

My favourite tracks are ‘If You See Her, 

Say Hello’, a glorious acoustic lament 

to lost love, and ‘Lily, Rosemary And 

The Jack Of Hearts’, which highlights 

...and busy living your life, have 

you ever wondered about the 

things you may have missed? 

Dylan’s storytelling at its best. It’s this 

mastery of the ‘story’ that qualifies ‘Blood 

On The Tracks’ as a true hidden gem; it 

signifies the moment Dylan changed from 

a messianic voice of popular protest to 

what he actually is - an unrivalled musical 

storyteller of the human condition. 

Give it a spin, with a soothing tumbler of 

single malt to hand. 

Dominic Rothwell is a scientist at The 

Paterson Institute for Cancer Research. 

Do people constantly talk about a book, a film, 

a record, fashion, a place, a person, an event or 

absolutely anything that’s completely passed you by 

(while you were out busily...) and do you wish you 

had experienced it? Or do you feel there’s a great 

piece of cultural art only you seem to know about 

and you want to let the rest of us know what we’re 

missing? Well, in around 500 words, here’s your 

chance to tell us about a piece of popular culture 

you love and nobody else seems to know about. 

The only proviso is that your nominated artefact 

must still be readily available to buy or view. 

After all, we want to experience the undoubted 

joys of your good taste. Email Mark Kureishy 

mark@salutions.co.uk 


WhAT’S ON 

Festival SeasonWords 

Catherine Reed 

The glamorous culture fest that 

is Manchester International 

Festival returns this year for its 

biannual visit to the city and 

brings with it dozens of new 

and exciting events. Add to this 

some of the summer’s other 

festivals and events, such as 

Greater Manchester Fringe 

Festival, Manchester Day Parade, 

Manchester Jazz Festival and 

Parklife, plus our very own 

Didsbury Festivals and you can see 

there is no shortage of fun to be 

had with or without the weather! 

Festivals and Special Events 

Manchester Day Parade 

2pm to 4pm, Sun 2 June - Manchester City Centre 

This year’s theme is ‘Wish You Were Here’, so hopefully 

the sunshine will also make an appearance to ensure 

the expected 50,000 audience can fully enjoy this 

brilliant spectacle with its giant puppets and displays, 

2,000 participants and fabulous community group 

musicians and dancers. The parade starts and ends 

on Liverpool Road; for a full list of participants visit 

themanchesterdayparade.co.uk. 

Didsbury Festival and Parade 

Sat 8 June - Didsbury Park 

This wonderful annual family event starts with the 

traditional parade at 11am from St Catherine’s 

RC School where hundreds of schoolchildren and 

community groups walk through the village to the park. 

This year’s theme is Space and Stars so look out for lots 

of extraterrestrial creations. Activities in the park include 

bouncy castles, fairground rides, displays, stalls and lots 

of tasty food. 

Chinese Dragon Boat Festival 

Sun 16 June - Huron Basin, Salford Quays 

Dragon Boat teams compete for the 2013 trophy in a 

thrilling event, which is a great day out for all the family 

as it also features lots of really fun activities, such as 

traditional lion dances, folk dances, music, songs and 

calligraphy; plus it is in Salford Quays so you can also 

visit The Lowry, Imperial War Museum and Ordsall Hall. 

The event starts with an opening ceremony at 11am 

and closes at 4pm. 


EVITA starring Marti Pellow 

Mon 29 July to Sat 10 August - The Lowry 

Didsbury Arts Festival 

Sat 22 to Sun 30 June - Various Didsbury venues 

This local arts festival brings a whole array of culture, fun 

and entertainment to Didsbury every year and this year’s 

programme includes a promenade production of ‘The 

Turn of the Screw’ at The Parsonage, a contemporary 

circus performance from circus artist Lia Baron, an 

afternoon of puppet theatre for all the family in Parsonage 

Gardens, and dozens more performances throughout 

the nine-day programme. Visit didsburyartsfestival.com 

for more information and tickets. 

Chorlton Coffee Festival 

Fri 28 to Sun 30 June - Various Chorlton venues 

A three-day festival dedicated to showcasing Chorlton’s 

cafe culture with a programme of events such as 

Organic Coffee Tastings and a film festival. 

Manchester International Festival 

Thurs 4 to Sun 21 July - Various venues 

MIF has commissioned leading artists from the UK and 

around the world to create more than twenty world 

premieres and special events for their 2013 festival. 

Highlights include Massive Attack v Adam Curtis in the 

Mayfield Depot (which promises to redefine the concept 

of a gig), Goldfrapp performing with the RNCM String 

Orchestra, and Kenneth Brannagh in Macbeth. Other 

influential artists taking part include Neneh Cherry, 

Delphic and The xx. Many shows sold out as soon as 

they went on sale but there are still tickets available for 

lots of events – visit mif.co.uk for more details, dates 

and times. 

RhS Flower Show 

Thurs 25 July to Sunday 28 July - Tatton Park 

This wonderful garden festival has lots of fresh ideas 

for visitors who enjoy growing their own fruit and 

veg. See them at the Great British Allotment area, or 

if ornamental plants are more your thing, head to the 

Floral Marquee to find a huge choice from some of the 

UK’s top nurseries. Visit rhs.org.uk to book tickets. 

Manchester Jazz Festival 

Fri 26 July to Sun 4 August - Various 

The 18th Manchester Jazz Festival is a celebration of 

jazz that takes place over ten days. This year it includes 

an exciting new commission ‘The Felonious Monks’, 

which fuses early renaissance music and contemporary 

jazz using a mixture of modern and replica 16thcentury 

instruments. Venues include The Bridgewater 

Hall, RNCM, and Matt & Phreds, with the festival 

centred around a pavilion tepee in Albert Square. Visit 

manchesterjazz.com for the full programme and tickets. 

Dance 

Strictly Confidential 

Mon 8 to Sat 13 July - The Lowry 

Starring Lisa Riley, Artem Chigvintsev, Natalie 

Lowe and Ian Waite, this is a brand-new show 

specially created by Craig Revel-Horwood to 

enable fans to get up close and personal with 

some of the stars of the BBC’s highly successful 

show, Strictly Come Dancing. We are promised 

personal stories, great music and of course some 

fabulous dances.

The Rocky Horror Show 

Mon 17 to Sat 22 June - Palace Theatre 

Drama 

The Birthday Party 

Wed 5 June to Sat 6 July 

Royal Exchange Theatre 

The Birthday Party is Nobel prize-winner Harold 

Pinter’s first full-length play and is one of his bestknown 

and most popular. This powerful, unsettling 

and absurdly menacing story is directed by Blanche 

McIntyre (winner of the Critics Circle Most Promising 

Newcomer 2011). 

Noises Off 

Mon 17 to Sat 22 June - The Lowry 

Michael Frayn’s multi-award winning comedy hurtles 

along at breakneck speed as it follows the backstage 

antics of a touring theatre company as it travels 

around the country. Neil Pearson stars alongside 

Maureen Beattie in this hit West End play. 

Too Clever By half 

Wed 10 July to Sat 17 August 

Royal Exchange Theatre 

The fabulous company ‘Told by an Idiot’ returns 

with an anarchic larger-than-life version of the 

Russian playwright Alexandr Ostrovsky’s best-known 

comedy. Too Clever By Half is a biting satire about 

Gloumov, a young scoundrel who is out to climb to 

the top of bourgeois society, regardless of what it 

takes to rise through the ranks and who he steps on 

to get there. 

Family 

Free storytelling sessions 

Sun 23 June and Sun 28 July 

Royal Exchange – The Front Room 

Free storytelling sessions for under-11s from 12 noon 

to 1.30pm. It’s free but ticketed, so call 0161 833 

9833 to book. 

Mickey’s Rockin’ Roadshow 

Thurs 25 to Sat 27 July - The Lowry 

Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy are on a zany trip 

in search of talent. Young audiences have the chance 

to help the Disney characters find the coolest acts, 

while they see Cinderella hit a high note, and Tigger 

bounce and enjoy a hoedown with Woody, Jessie 

and Buzz from Toy Story. 

Ben and holly’s Little kingdom 

Sat 27 and Sun 28 July - Palace Theatre 

From the makers of Peppa Pig comes this BAFTA 

award-winning television animation for the first time 

live on stage! Perfect for younger children. 

GHOST The Musical 

Tue 2 to Sat 20 July 

Manchester Opera House 

Strictly Confidential 

Mon 8 to Sat 13 July - The Lowry 

Musicals 

The Rocky horror Show 

Mon 17 to Sat 22 June - Palace Theatre 

The famously naughty but brilliant rock musical 

returns to the city – this time it is the 40th 

anniversary version starring West End’s Oliver 

Thornton. Rocky is always outrageous, always a 

little naughty and always great fun! 

GhOST The Musical 

Tue 2 to Sat 20 July - Manchester Opera House 

The smash hit musical returns for a second 

city centre visit. Its brilliant score is written by 

Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard and features the 

memorable ‘Unchained Melody’. It’s got romance, 

comedy, great sets and some terrific songs – 

what’s not to love? 

EVITA starring Marti Pellow 

Mon 29 July to Sat 10 August - The Lowry 

Telling the story of Eva Peron and her breathtaking 

journey from her young ambitious beginnings to 

enormous wealth and power, this is an epic 

musical filled with classic memorable songs such 

as Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, Oh What A Circus 

and Another Suitcase In Another Hall. Marti 

Pellow stars as Che, making this one of the best 

musicals to catch this summer. 


Local services 

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To enquire about membership contact 

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www.altrinchamchamber.co.uk 

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Iyengar Yoga Manchester offers general and 

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5 lessons for just £25 

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psychology for success 

Assesment, advice and treatment for learning, 

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Telephone : 01829 771177 

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4 Cocktails and food platter - Stephen Hand 

Table for 4 on a Saturday – Zoe Johnson 

Breakfast for 2 - Becky Marsden 

Midweek brunch - Gina Hughes 

Supper club experience - Sue Weighell 

Competitions Terms and conditions 

No purchase necessary. Employees of Salutions Limited and associated companies, promotional partners, their agents and families are not eligible to enter. Entries will be declared 

void if found mutilated, illegible, altered, reconstructed, forged or tampered with in any way. In the event of there being more claims than prizes available in any category, then prizes 

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MOTORING 

land Rover comes 

to Peckforton 

Peckforton Castle may 

have established itself 

as one of the UK’s most 

spectacular wedding 

venues, but it has far more 

attractions – and the latest 

one will be of particular 

interest to anyone who, 

like me, gets more 

excited about cars than 

weddings… 

Over the many years I’ve been 

writing about motoring for this 

magazine, I’ve been nothing if not 

biased. My all-time favourite vehicle is the 

Land Rover, and I’ve been known to say so 

on more than one occasion. The chance to 

drive one in such a unique location, right 

on my doorstep, promised therefore to be 

something truly memorable. 

Peckforton Castle sits on a hill surrounded by 

an estate of magnificent Cheshire forest, with 

some privately owned trails that take you to 

some of the highest points and best views 

in the county. The whole place is perfect for 

taking a Land Rover to its limits – and that’s 

obviously something the estate owners and 

the car company both recognised. 

The famous Land Rover Experience made 

a very clever move when it chose this as 

its latest location. Not only is Cheshire the 

heartland of its target customers, but it is 

also a stunning and unforgettable place 

in which to learn what these amazing 

vehicles are capable of. 


The Experience offers everything from 

taster sessions for first-time off-roaders or 

prospective buyers, to advanced training 

at the limits of extreme driving. With Land 

Rover-trained expert instructors and a choice 

from the entire range, from the versatile 

Defender to the ultra-luxe Range Rover, the 

experience can be tailored to every visitor. 

I went out in the latest Discovery 4, and 

within minutes was marvelling at how 

effortlessly it coped with seemingly 

impassable rocks, mud, river crossings and 

climbs. As my instructor Charles put it, any 

Land Rover is better than we are. Meaning, 

when my human brain thought we were 

going to topple over or would never make it 

up a slope, the vehicle knew better. 

This was really put to the test when 

we made it to the Quarry, the jewel 

in Peckforton’s crown. A purposebuilt 

adventure playground for Land 

Rovers, hidden in the forest, it boasts 

obstacles including the seesaw, the 

elephant’s footprints and the giant 

Words Oliver Chesher 

monkey-nut; all designed to demonstrate 

the accomplishments of 65 years of 

engineering evolution. 

The final landmark on the way back to 

the castle was the unmissable Haunted 

Bridge. Growing up round here a quarter 

of a century ago, I’d heard that dogs 

or horses would refuse to go under this 

bridge. That’s still true, apparently, but not 

quite so spooky when you’ve spent all day 

feeling indestructible. 

For more information on the Land Rover 

Experience at Peckforton Castle, call 01829 

260 930 or visit www.peckfortoncastle. 

co.uk/leisure/landrover

Call our team today on 0161 445 2300 

(option 1) to find out more! 

Property Services | 721 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, M20 6WF 

T. 0161 445 2300 E. services@jpbrimelow.co.uk 

Offices also in 

Chorlton Sales 0161 882 2233 | Lettings 0161 882 2244 

Didsbury Sales 0161 448 0622 | Lettings 0161445 2300 

Withington Sales 0161 445 9700 | Lettings 0161 434 6169 

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