Wealden Times | WT198 | August 2018 | Wedding supplement inside

Wedding SUPPLEMENT inside 

Inspirational Interiors • Fabulous Fashion • Delicious Dishes 

PRICELESS 

AUGUST 2018

Designers and makers of handmade kitchens 

The difference is in the detail

Please call for a brochure or visit our showrooms 

Unit 9, Chart Farm, Seal Chart 

Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0ES 

Tel: 01732 762682 

81 Calverley Road 

Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2UY 

Tel: 01892 520730 

www.rencraft.co.uk

Exclusive offers 

See in store for details 

14-18 London Road | Sevenoaks | TN13 1AJ 

T: 01732 755555 

Sevenoaks.home-design.schmidt

20 Grosvenor Road | Tunbridge Wells | TN1 2AR 

T: 01892 547 132 

Tunbridge-wells.home-design.schmidt

MINTERIORS 

JFine hand crafted kitchens and bespoke furniture 

01580 291221 jminteriorsuk.uk Biddenden Showroom

UK distributor of Decking, Cladding & Flooring Products by Thermory ® 

www.roundwood.com

OAK FRAMED BUILDINGS 

QUALITY DECKING & CLADDING 

OAK & WALNUT FLOORING 

HOME & GARDEN FEATURES 

Tel: 01435 867 072 

Round Wood | Newick Lane | Mayfield | East Sussex | TN20 6RG

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE 

Create your own Great 

British Bake Off kitchen 

As the summer heats up, it can only mean one thing: it’s time for the return of The Great British Bake Off to 

our screens. Prue, Paul and the team will be back in the famous tent this August for our annual blast of sugar, 

showstoppers and soggy bottoms. If the show inspires you to embrace your inner domestic goddess, there’s no 

need to stop once the technical challenges are over. Create your own extra slice by bringing the look and feel of 

the Bake Off kitchen into your home. Here are some ideas from Wren Kitchens to get you started… 

Perfect pastels 

If you close your eyes and picture the Great British Bake 

Off, you’ll see picture perfect baking stations complete 

with pastel units and accessories. The colour palette 

available from Wren Kitchens’ Macaroon Collection 

includes some perfect pastel blues, greens, lavenders 

and lemons so you can recreate this look at home. Try 

pretty Jelly Bean, Bubblegum, Lavender, Spearmint and 

Lemon Curd from Wren’s new Macaroon Collection. 

Or opt for a gentle neutral scheme with soft creams 

or whites and add a splash of pastel paint on your 

kitchen walls to bring the whimsical look of the Bake 

Off kitchen into your home. 

Signature style 

The Great British Bake Off kitchen is all about nostalgia 

for a traditional country kitchen. From the trademark 

bunting to the shaker-style units, the vibe captures 

the charm of days gone by. You can get the look with 

Wren’s charming Shaker, Country and Edwardian 

kitchens with their panelled units and traditional handle 

options. All available in a wide range of colours. 

Break up that modular fitted kitchen feel with a choice of 

bespoke feature units. An open dresser unit is perfect for 

displaying your vintage crockery with pride or choose 

open shelves for easy access and convenient storage. 

Island paradise 

Be the star of your own show with every baker’s 

dream - a kitchen island all to yourself for prepping, 

mixing and decorating. 

At Wren Kitchens you can sit with an expert Kitchen 

Designer and create an island that is perfect for your 

dream kitchen. Style it up with a wine rack and wine 

cooler and finish it off with a cook’s table suited for all 

baking connoisseurs. Accessorise with vintage bowls, 

cooking tools, and wicker baskets to store those 

yummy ingredients. With hundreds of special features 

to choose from, your island will be entirely unique. 

Wonderful worktops 

A staple of the Great British Bake Off kitchen is the 

traditional timber worktop. A timber worktop is a 

lovely surface to work on and gives a warm finish to 

any kitchen. Like a Shaker kitchen - timber worktops 

work just as well in modern or period homes. 

Available in Oak and Walnut and in two thicknesses, 

you can choose the right shade for your kitchen. 

Serious bakers can bring the features of a 

professional kitchen into their own home by 

integrating a Carrara marble pastry slab into their 

worktop. Marble maintains a low temperature 

which helps to keep pastry cool and stops dough 

from sticking. 

A professional-standard oven 

However good your baking skills, a sub standard 

oven will let you down. For an oven with everything 

a baker needs, look no further than the NEFF 

Slide&Hide® Oven, available from Wren Kitchens, 

which comes complete with the sliding door feature 

seen on the Great British Bake Off and 12 different 

options - including the Bread Baking and Dough 

Proving settings. 

The perfect place to start your Bake Off 

transformation journey is your local Wren Kitchens 

Showroom. Find yours at www.wrenkitchens.com

This complete kitchen 

including all fully built units, shelving, 

Zanussi appliances, granite worktops, 

sink & tap. 

£244 

per month over 5 years 

Tunbridge Wells 

Fountains Park, TN2 3FB 

0345 127 7008 

Maidstone 

Aylesford Park, ME20 7TP 

01622 231420 

Orpington 

Springvale Park, BR5 3SG 

01689 414878 

For a Wren Kitchens brochure and to find your 

nearest showroom visit wrenkitchens.com 

Kitchen price is for kitchen units, handles, appliances, worktops, sink and tap. Excludes props and small worktop appliances. Price checked on 03/07/2018 

Interest free credit provided subject to application and status. Minimum spend – £4,000 for two years, £6,000 for three years, £10,000 for four years and £16,000 for five years. Kitchen Price £16,202, 

10% deposit of £1,620.20 and then 60 monthly payments of £243.03 at 0% APR. Total amount payable £16,202. Interest free credit is available on all kitchen projects and Wren Installation services. 

Full details are available at wrenkitchens.com/finance

5 High Street, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3EB 

01580 715144 

Email: kld@kingsfords.net www.kingsfords-solicitors.com 

We offer an excellent, swift and friendly service. 

Conveyancing - Wills & Estates - Commercial Law - 

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Conveyancing Services from £550.00+VAT 

Wills from £215.00+VAT / Mirror Wills from £295.00+VAT 

Lasting Power Of Attorney (LPA's) from £250.00+VAT 

(Initial fixed-fee appointments also available at our Cranbrook offices) 

Litigation Solicitor from £200.00+VAT 

Matrimonial Solicitor from £150.00+VAT 

We will always try and match any quotation 

Kingsfords Solicitors Limited registered office address 2 Elwick Road, Ashford, Kent TN23 1PD 

Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority 621466 

KingsfordSolicitorsWT186.indd 1 24/07/2017 16:55 

a w o r l d o f i n t e r i o r s 

INDAH MANGO WOOD 

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Visit our showrooms 

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wealdentimes.co.uk 

TB_SH_July.indd 1 20/07/2018 12:17 

10 

TradingBoundariesWT198.indd 1 20/07/2018 12:41

Contents 

August 2018 

22 

114 

GRACIOUS LIVING 

Maggie Alderson’s personal 

pick of properties 

101 

S4 

HAMMER TIME 

Let’s get excited about 

auction houses again 

125 

78 

LATE BLOOMERS 

Jo Arnell tells how to keep up 

appearances in your August garden 

41 

48 

73 

78 

NOTEBOOK 

Our seven top events for August 

THE HOUSE OF 

MANY WORDS 

The house which also serves as 

inspiration and performance 

space of Explore the Arch 

GET THE LOOK 

Add a little theatrical splendour 

to your own home 

A PASSAGE FROM INDIA 

Inside the home of 

British interior design 

legend Sasha Waddell 

107 

111 

112 

114 

HERE COMES THE 

BEAUTIFUL BRIDE 

Josephine Fairley’s tips to 

enhance your bridal beauty 

A YEAR OF WELLNESS 

Eminé Rushton takes a look 

at holistic skin health 

NATURAL WISDOM 

Seasonal advice from Ella 

Carey and products to save the 

planet and scent your home 

LIGHT AND BRIGHT 

Light bites that are perfect 

for the summer season 

129 

131 

137 

138 

SURVIVING RESULTS 

SEASON 

Hilary Wilce on why failure 

isn’t the end of the world 

WHAT’S ON 

All the best things to do this August 

COMPETITION 

Win a £500 luxury spa break 

for two at Eastwell Manor, 

Champneys Hotel & Spa 

FABLES FROM THE FARM 

Jane Howard talks favourites 

from the farm 

99 

GET THE LOOK 

Products that will give your 

home that signature Sasha style 

119 

LET THE GRASSES GROW 

Sue Whigham thinks we should 

all watch the grass grow 

Published by JPS Media Ltd. Kettle Chambers, 21 Stone Street, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3HF 

Telephone 01580 714705 Email info@wealdentimes.co.uk visit wealdentimes.co.uk 

Copyright © 2018 JPS Media Ltd. The views of the advertisers and contributors are not 

necessarily those of JPS Media Ltd. 

WEDDING 

SUPPLEMENT 

30 pages of 

flowers, tipis, 

honeymoons 

and cake. 

After page 104. 

Weddings 

A Wealden Times Supplement 

View the new Weddings Directory online at wealdentimes.co.uk The woodland wedding 

11 

● Fun cakes ● Tipis ● Fabulous flowers ● Honeymoon heaven

Lamberhurst 

A magnificent Grade II listed stately home currently set up as multiple dwellings 

which offers a wide range of accommodation totalling circa 29,062 sq ft with 

formal gardens and grounds of about 6 acres. 

Lot 2 available by separate negotiation circa 40 acres currently used as a 9 hole golf course 

Guide price: £3,600,000 

simon.biddulph@knightfrank.com 

01892 310700 

KnightFrank.co.uk/tunbridge-wells 

oliver.rodbourne@knightfrank.com 

01892 310700 

KnightFrank.co.uk/country 

@KF_HomeCounties 

KnightFrank.co.uk

EXQUISITE 

COMFORTS 

Elegantly crafted three, four and five bedroom homes. 

Just 400 metres from Tenterden’s boutique High Street. 

YOUR STYLE OUR QUALITY 

High specification homes available now with a 

bespoke range of premium fixtures and fittings 

and paint colours by Farrow & Ball. 

Prices from £495,000.* 

Show homes open daily 10am to 5pm 

01580 854076 churchview-tenterden.co.uk 

RESERVE EARLY AND HAVE 

FIRST CHOICE OF 

THE BEST HOMES 

HOUSE TO SELL? Ask about our 

Easy Mover service to help sell 

your existing home 

*Prices correct at time of print. Farrow & Ball colour shades apply to front door.

‘Our Focus ‘Our Determines Focus Determines Your Reality’ Your Reality’ 

HARPERS AND HURLINGHAM 

GOUDHURST £1,525,000 

STUNNING GRADE II LISTED FAMILY HOME WITH CONVERTED BARN 

House: Four reception rooms and conservatory · Kitchen/breakfast room · Utility room · Five bedrooms (one 

ensuite) · Swimming pool · Tennis court · Garaging · Stunning views · Planning permission for a double storey 

extension. Barn: Sitting room · Kitchen · Two bedrooms · Two shower rooms. 

Cranbrook School Catchment Area 

Sales & Lettings Team 

Harpers&Hurlingham 

The Cornerhouse, Stone Street, Cranbrook 

01580 715400 

www.harpersandhurlingham.com 

Jane Emilie Chez Cathy Sarah Debbie Jane A Debbie S Janey Caroline Dianne 

LONDON OFFICE: KENSINGTON 020 7938 2311

Land & Property Experts 

MANOR HOUSE 

BENENDEN, KENT 

A truly outstanding agricultural and residential Estate in the Kentish High Weald. All within a ring fence and situated 

close to the popular village of Benenden. Including the following: - 

• Grade II* Listed 15th Century Manor House with 7 bedrooms, extensive mature 

gardens, Period timber frame Kent Barn and Double Garage 

• A Grade II Listed Secondary Farmhouse with 4 bedrooms 

• Single Kiln Oast House and Period Kent Barn 

• 3 bedroom Cottage and separate Flat with adjoining Workshop and Stores 

• A useful range of modern and traditional Farm Buildings including a 

Farm Office, Yards, Sheep Buildings and Hay Store 

• Agricultural Land and Woodland comprising Grassland, Arable and Apple Orchards 

In all approximately 346.7 Acres 

FOR SALE BY PRIVATE TREATY AS A WHOLE OR IN LOTS 

GUIDE PRICE ON APPLICATION 

FARMHOUSE 

Challock Office

01580 242700 

2 Windmill Oast, Windmill Farm, Rolvenden, Kent TN17 4PF 

Woodchurch oIEo £1,495,000 

Award winning, 6 bedroom detached Barn set in 7 acres of grounds and 

gardens (approx.) 

hIGh hALdEN oIEo £1,000,000 

INForMAL tENdEr - Enchanting 22 acre (approx.) farmstead with 

farmhouse, cottages and outbuildings – exciting revenue streams (stpc) 

WINchELsEA, Nr ryE 

PoA 

Historically significant 5 bedroom period home with impressive views of 

Church and surrounding village. 

Goudhurst oIEo £900,000 

INForMAL tENdEr - 6/7 bedroom, detached Victorian Cottage, with later 

additions set in 2 acres, Cranbrook School Catchment Area. 

roLvENdEN LAyNE oIEo £775,000 

Deceptively large, 5 bedroom detached family home with pretty gardens 

in quiet village location. 

sANdhurst £750,000 

Immaculate Granary and annexe in peaceful rural location – 3 bedrooms. 

Cranbrook School Catchment Area. 

roLvENdEN oIEo £475,000 

An inviting and spacious 4 bedroom Grade II Listed Georgian home. 

Cranbrook School Catchment Area. 

BENENdEN oIEo £450,000 

4 bedroom detached, family home benefiting from considerable additions 

and improvements. Cranbrook School Catchment Area. 

wealdproperty.net

Design & Planning 

Restoration 

New Build 

Barn Conversions 

Extensions 

Joinery 

COX 

Developments 

(Charing) Limited 

www.coxrestorations.co.uk 

www.coxdevelopmentscharing.co.uk 

NATIONAL AWARD WINNER COX DEVELOPMENTS 

(CHARING) LIMITED – BEST SMALL DEVELOPMENT 

For a free consultation please contact: 01233 714950 

www.coxrestorations.co.uk 

Established 1986

MAXIMISE THE VALUE 

OF YOUR LAND 

Have you got a large 

garden or plot of land? 

We are experts at working 

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We take care of the planning permission! 

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Planning laws are changing 

Act now before its too late! 

What our clients say… 

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"The cost involved to try and 

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Working with Country House 

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Mr C Partridge (Loose, Kent) 

September 2016 

For a free appraisal call 0843 557 4080 

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sales@countryhousehomes.co.uk 

“Guy and team at CHH did a fantastic 

job securing planning permission on 

our rear garden plot. Although a fairly 

problematic application (which took 

over 18 months), they kept us informed 

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I would certainly use them again” 

David J (Oxted, Surrey) 

January 2017

Discretion is is the Better Part of Valour 

The property market has changed astronomically 

At SJD we work to source the right developers for 

in the past few decades, bringing in a new era 

your site - all of our sales are made confidentially 

of off-market and private sales. 

thus protecting both your identity and your 

individual interests. 

Unlike conventional methods, we we offer offer discrete 

marketing where details of your site are not 

openly marketed. Private sales generate a sense 

of exclusivity, boosting the likelihood of a quick 

and hassle-free transaction. 

If If you If you have have a development 

a opportunity that that you you would like like to to sell sell off-market, 

please contact us us for for a free a free appraisal. 

Contact Stephen Donnelly on 

on 

07739 514350 or or or 0845 456 8969 

Web: sjd-projects.com 

email: steve@sjd-projects.com 

SJDprojectsWT196.indd 1 23/05/2018 16:17 

Installed in homes 

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20 

TotalQualityMaintenanceS42.indd 1 26/03/2018 12:46

LOOK 

INSIDE 

Join our Open Day celebrations and 

be one of the first to view this new 

luxury retirement village in Kent. 

EMERSON PARK OPEN DAY CELEBRATIONS 

Friday 7th September: 12am – 6pm and Saturday 8th September: 10am – 4pm 

Take a look inside the new luxury retirement 

village for Kent – Emerson Park, Hextable. 

It offers a range of on-site amenities and services 

including restaurant & bar, fitness suite, hair & 

beauty salon, cinema, private transport service 

and 24-hr emergency call system. 

Emerson Park Retirement Apartments: 

42 luxury apartments and 5 Service Plus Apartments. 

Emerson Grange Care Home: 

Emerson Grange is a luxury care home offering nursing, 

residential, dementia and respite care. 

To find out more call 01322 515417 

SHOW SUITE OPEN Monday to Saturday 10am – 4pm 

Emerson Park, Rowhill Road, Hextable BR8 7RL 

Web: www.cinnamoncc.com/emersonpark

House 

Month 

of the 

£1,450,000 

Gracious living 

Maggie Alderson picks her favourite homes on the market 

Island Farm 

The Dream: A Grade II listed 

medieval house (1483) with every 

possible kind of olde worlde furdly 

burdly detail. Unusually, it’s also light 

and airy, with good room heights, 

so there is none of that ‘ceiling as 

a tight hat’ feeling. There’s a lovely 

eat-in kitchen and a character 

bathroom. You will just need to 

supply your own Jacobean beds. 

Where: Just outside the 

village of Biddenden, ten 

minutes from Tenterden. 

Setting: In beautiful countryside, 

with woodland to the rear. 

Beds: 5 Baths: 3, (2 en suite) 

Special features: A front door 

that would impress Gandalf 

and adorable lead mullion 

windows, inglenooks a go go. 

Pleasing details: It sits in the middle 

of the plot, so there are lovely 

aspects from every room. There is 

a dragon beam in the dining room 

and an unusual floor-to-ceiling oriel 

window in the drawing room. 

Outside: Glorious mature gardens 

and a wonderful wisteria on the 

exterior. A swimming pool and 

an all-weather tennis court. 

Time to town: Ten minutes drive 

to Headcorn station, then just 

over an hour to Cannon Street, 

Charing Cross, or St Pancras. 

Agent: Fine & Country, Tenterden. 

01580 766388 fineandcountry.com 


22

Darwell Hill 

£1,850,000 

The Dream: Horse heaven, with pristine 

equestrian facilities and direct access 

to unlimited riding trails in Darwell 

Wood. The house is lovely too, 1920s 

Arts & Crafts style with a magnificent 

thatched roof and quirky rambling plan. 

Where: On the edge of the village of 

Netherfield, 3.5 miles from Battle. 

Setting: An elevated position in the 

High Weald AONB, with views over 

the Southern Downs to the coast. 

Beds: 6 Baths: 2, the master en 

suite, with a dressing room 

Special features: Stabling for four horses, 

an American-style barn incorporating 

a tack room and washdown area. 

Pleasing details: A store room, a cold 

store, a utility room, a snug, a music 

room and a study, before you get on 

to the normal roster of rooms. 

Outside: Mature, shrubtastic gardens, 

with many delightful details. 

Time to town: Trains from Battle (7 mins) 

to London Bridge, Charing Cross and 

Cannon Street in around 90 minutes. 

Agent: Savills, Cranbrook 01580 720161 

savills.co.uk 

Wissenden Corner 

£975,000 

The Dream: With light pouring in from 

a plethora of large windows, golden 

floorboards for miles, this beautifully 

appointed house is finished to a level 

rarely seen outside American TV shows. 

Where: In a small hamlet, close 

to the village of Bethersden. 

Setting: Surrounded by farmland. 

Beds: 5 Baths: 4, two en suite 

Special features: Suntrap terraces 

for outside entertaining. 

Pleasing details: An annexe perfect 

for sequestering gangs of teenagers. 

Outside: Landscaped gardens, 

a meadow and pond. 

Time to town: Ashford (15 mins 

drive) then 37 minutes to St Pancras. 

From Pluckley (10 mins), then an 

hour and 20 to Charing Cross, 

London Bridge and Cannon Street. 

Agent: Jackson-Stops 01580 720000 

jackson-stops.co.uk 

23 wealdentimes.co.uk

FREE 

NO OBLIGATION 

HOME VISIT, 

QUOTATION AND 

FITTING 

For the ultimate in timeless elegance look no further than 

Blind Blind Design’s Design’s range range of blinds, of shutters and and blinds. curtains. 

Call Freephone 

0800 988 1071 1071 

For Your Free Home Visit Visit 

Unit 6, 6, Harvington Business Park, Brampton Road, • Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN22 9AF 

Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm, Sat 9am - 2pm 

Telephone 01323 509 661. Freephone 0800 988 1071 

Telephone 01323 509 661 Freephone 0800 988 1071 

www.blind-design.co.uk 

www.blind-design.co.uk

The Kitchen is the Heart of Your Home 

See how we can transform your home today www.bentonskitchens.co.uk canterbury@bentonskitchens.co.uk 

Showroom: 17 Maynard Road, Canterbury, Kent CT1 3RH Telephone: 01227 767576

VISIT OUR 

KITCHEN SHOWROOM 

CINQUE PORTS ST. 

RYE 

SHOWROOM: 53A CINQUE PORTS STREET RYE, EAST SUSSEX. TN31 7AN 

01797 226 478 portraitkitchens.co.uk

A.T. Palmer Ltd 

Restoration Specialists Est.1949 

| Employed Skilled Workforce 

| Renovations & Extensions 

| Conversions & Alterations 

| Design & Build 

T: 01233 770077 

Smarden Business Estate, TN27 8QL 

atpalmer.co.uk

Expertly fitted school shoes 

by the people who care 

www.thegoldenboot.co.uk

A different perspective. 

Some see stores as places to shop. 

We see them as places to call home. 

Neptune Tonbridge, 01732 351866 | Neptune Canterbury, 01227 209300. 

neptune.com/stores

DESIGN & PLANNING | RESTORATION | NEW BUILD | BARN CONVERSIONS | EXTENSIONS | JOINERY 

For a brochure or home consultation call 01797 366895 

www.anthony-hicks.co.uk

Calling all women! 

At Spire Tunbridge Wells you are our priority, so it’s time to put yourself first 

Take time for you at our women’s health event on 

Saturday 29th September 2018 

at Spire Tunbridge Wells Hospital from 10am-1pm 

A team of breast, gynaecological and physiotherapy consultants will 

be available on the day covering a range of symptoms and concerns 

Goody 

Bags 

Tea, Coffee 

& Cakes! 

Heavy 

painful 

periods 

Menopause 

Breast 

cancer 

family 

history 

What’s available: 

FREE breast checks, FREE smear tests, FREE 

mini consultations. Limited spaces available. 

Call today to book your place 

01892 741150 

Post-natal 

concerns 

Bladder 

& bowel 

frequency 

incontinence 

Pelvic 

floor 

Discounted 3D 

mammograms 

available 

If you don’t want a health check, then why not come along to meet 

our consultants and listen to their presentations covering: 

‘Common signs of breast cancer and what to look out for’ 

‘Are heavy periods normal?’ 

Make Spire Tunbridge Wells your hospital of choice. 

Call us in confidence on 01892 741150 

tunbridgewebform@spirehealthcare.com 

www.spiretunbridgewells.com

Midwinter Fair 

Sponsored by 

harpers and hurlingham

TICKETS ON SALE NOW 

Ticket Hotline: 01580 236071 

wealdentimes.co.uk/events 

HOME & GARDEN 

Inside five heated marquees you’ll find everything 

you need for the perfect Christmas. Browse 

amongst hand-picked stalls selling contemporary 

and vintage goodies for the home, plus a fine 

selection of gifts, fashion and jewellery. 

Pre-book 

discounted 

tickets online 

now! 

Using this code 

WT1 

15th, 16th & 17th 

november 2018 

THe HOP FARM, Paddock Wood, Tn12 6PY 

& FOOD DRINK 

Eat a delicious lunch in our Street Food Café, enjoy 

tea, a slice of cake or a light lunch in our Café 

Bakery or sip on something a bit special in our Café 

Bar. Foodies will also love the independent, artisan 

producers on show in our food hall. 

See page 77 for a sneak peek at some of the 

exhibitors we have at this year’s Wealden 

Times Midwinter Fair...

25 th July – 22 nd Aug 

Find out more and book 

your free tickets at 

theglades.co.uk

Fast access to GPs 

and referrals all in one 

convenient location 

FREE 

parking 

Doctor 

our 

will see you now 

Our new GP service offers 

flexible appointments to get 

you back on track in no time 

25minute 

appointments 

Blood testsMRI 

Pathology 

Expert 

care 

Appointments 

£95 

Rapid 

access to results 

Call 01580 242 521 or visit benendenhospital.org.uk/GP 

For Terms & Conditions please visit benendenhospital.org.uk/GP 

The Benenden Hospital Trust is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England, number 3454120. 

Registered charity number 1065995, Registered Office, The Benenden Hospital Trust, Goddard’s Green Road, 

Benenden, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 4AX

www.homeleighgroup.co.uk 

Get ahead.... 

plan your garden & buildings 

this summer 

NATURAL PAVING 

from 

£16. 99 +VAT (per sq.m) 

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CHARRED OAK 

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£14. 99 +VAT (per sq.m) 

BARK (Bulk Bags) 


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Maidstone: 

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Woodford Depot: 

01580 892733 

Maidstone Road | Staplehurst | TN12 0RH 

Staplehurst: 

01580 892037 

Station Road | Staplehurst | TN12 0PY 

Ashford: 

01233 850075 

Ashford Road | High Halden | TN26 3BP

the original 

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TIRED OF YOUR OLD KITCHEN? 

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Notebook 

It’s lit 

The very first Hastings Litfest will be spreading the 

joy of literature throughout the lovely seaside town 

from Friday 31 August to Sunday 2 September. 

The programme is full of workshops, talks, films, 

panels, music and a book fair. It will take in 

glorious venues including Jerwood Gallery and 

Hastings Pier and boasts names including Sir David 

Hare and our own editor Maggie Alderson who will 

be talking about her new novel The Scent of You 

over brunch at White Rock Hotel. hastingslitfest.org 

Pixie manor 

Venture into a land of pixies, fairies 

and dragons at Ruxley Manor from 

Saturday 14 July to Sunday 2 

September. Sneak past the fearsome 

sleeping dragon, Greenock, and learn 

the Fairy Godmother’s magical oath to 

receive your special gift and photograph 

as an honorary pixie! ruxley-manor.co.uk 

Notebook 

Exhibitions 

& 

events near you 

this month 

The play’s the thing 

Grab your picnic basket and head to 

Fairlight Hall in Hastings this month 

for a spot of Shakespeare. Following 

nine sell out seasons at Lamb House, 

the players are playing their first season 

at Fairlight Hall’s beautiful round. 

From Friday 17 to Sunday 19 August, 

West End and Broadway favourites 

Jonathan Broadbent and Jessica Regan 

and Radio 4’s Carrie Quinlan will lead 

The Lamb Players in Shakespeare’s As 

You Like It. thelambplayers.com 

For art’s sake 

Explore the Rye Society of Artists’ 

summer exhibition from Saturday 4 to 

Sunday 26 August. See a mix of work 

from the RSA, a long established group 

of painters, printmakers, sculptors, 

photographers and ceramicists (many 

with national and international 

reputations). societyof artists.co.uk 

Tony Momrelle 

All that Jazz 

Friday 24 to Monday 27 August sees 

a wealth of musical talent gather in 

the beautiful town of Rye as the Rye 

international jazz and blues festival 

returns. The programme is a platform 

for established and emerging talent 

including acclaimed British Soul singer 

Tony Momrelle. ryejazz.com 

Knight’s tale 

Hever Castle’s summer jousting is like 

something straight out of a costume 

drama, starring Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn 

and a host of valiant knights. From 

Saturday 14 July to Monday 27 August 

families can enjoy some brilliant action, 

falls and stunts as the knights fight to be 

named champion. hevercastle.co.uk 



Dealing with online abuse 

There has been a marked increase in 

the number of defamation cases brought 

before the courts recently, many of 

which can be attributed to the growing 

use of social media. Here Cripps 

lawyers Alex Davies, head of family 

law, and defamation specialist Will 

Charlesworth, explain how to deal with 

the issue if you feel you are affected. 

The end of a relationship can be the 

lowest part of life and it often brings out 

the worst in people. The internet age has 

brought new ways to express anger and 

resentment in those situations, the effects 

of which can be deep and long lasting. 

The 17th century playwright William 

Congreve had it right when he said 

‘heaven has no rage, like love to hatred 

turned’. How many books or films can 

you name about breaking up? How many 

songs can you sing about lost love? 

“Soon after Facebook was launched in the 

UK, it started to feature in my caseload,” 

said Alex. “I well remember my first 

harassment case involving highly offensive 

and disturbing content being posted on 

my client’s Facebook wall. It was 2008 

and the evidence ran to over a thousand 

pages. In those days there was only one 

way (that we knew of) to put a stop to it, 

so we duly obtained a non-molestation 

injunction against the perpetrator. The 

posts carried on and the court was asked 

to commit the perpetrator to prison.” 

The world has moved on in the last ten 

years. Facebook and hundreds of other 

social media sites have opened up a world 

of possibilities – some for good, some 

for bad. It would be impossible for our 

courts to handle the volume of claims that 

would result if every single case of online 

harassment were to be litigated over. Many 

people either close down their online 

accounts or simply ignore it in the hope it 

will go away. So, what are the alternatives? 

How can you put a stop to online 

harassment from an ex-partner or spouse? 

The good news is that there are solutions 

out there that do not have to break the 

bank with legal fees. At Cripps we have 

seen a dramatic increase in enquiries 

from people complaining of online 

harassment and often we are able to deal 

with it using defamation or privacy law. 

Defamation is a false statement of fact 

that harms a person’s reputation. It 

causes serious harm by, for example, 

exposing that person to hatred, 

ridicule, or contempt. There are two 

types of defamation – libel, which 

typically involves “lasting” forms 

of publication, and slander, which 

includes spoken words or gestures. 

The law requires that a letter of claim 

is sent before a defamation case is 

started. There is no “one size fits all” 

letter. A letter of claim must be carefully 

written to ensure that it includes 

relevant information and demands the 

appropriate remedies, which can include 

• A takedown and retraction; 

• An enforceable promise not to repeat 

the same or similar comments; 

• Payment of compensation; and 

• An apology. 

Often a well written letter can resolve 

the situation. In addition, a take-down 

request can be made to the social 

media platform itself. Reporting 

functions are available on the main 

platforms and many of our clients ask 

us to deal with them on their behalf. 

If warnings don’t work, it might be 

necessary to start a defamation case 

and the Court Service has reported an 

increase in such cases in recent years. 

In some circumstances, it may be possible 

to send a Take Down Notice to the Internet 

Service Provider (ISP). Regulations 

now in force provide that an ISP may be 

held liable itself unless procedures are 

properly followed and timescales met. 

Reputational damage may also be suffered 

through public disclosure of personal 

information, such as family photos or 

intimate secrets. This may lead to claims 

for breach of privacy or confidentiality 

which can be considered in addition, or 

as an alternative, to a defamation claim. 

So, if you are suffering from online 

harassment, defamation or an 

embarrassing disclosure, our top tips are: 

1. Don’t delay. Often your case will be 

weakened if you don’t act fast; 

2. Secure your evidence. Take 

screenshots of offending material 

and keep as much detail as possible, 

including the date, time and location of 

posts on social media or websites; and 

3. Take legal advice. It doesn’t have 

to cost the earth. At Cripps we offer 

fixed fees for most of our services 

relating to problems online. 

For more information or an 

informal chat, please contact: 

Alex Davies 

T - 01892 506 326 

alex.davies@ 

cripps.co.uk 

Will Charlesworth 

T - 01892 506 004 

will.charlesworth@ 

cripps.co.uk 

www.cripps.co.uk @crippslaw This article gives examples and is intended for general guidance only

Editor’s 

Letter 

While putting together this issue I’ve fallen madly in 

love. With weddings. Over recent years they’ve taken 

such a lovely relaxed turn, inspired by the boho chic 

of festival culture we have all come to adore. 

Looking through hundreds of pictures of real weddings, where 

everyone seems to be grinning in every picture, has made me 

long to go and do it all again – this time in an ancient forest, 

with Converse under my wedding dress, a hedgerow bouquet and 

a table of outrageously pretty sweet goodies instead of a rock-hard 

white cake. 

Also inspiring me this issue are our two houses. One is a 

masterclass in sophisticated simplicity by a living legend of home 

style which makes me want to throw away most of what I own – 

and paint what’s left white. 

The other is an inspiration on several levels. More than a 

beautiful house, Archer Lodge is a working theatrical space and 

HQ – domestic and artistic – of a very exciting creative collective. 

They are running some fascinating workshops for the very first 

Hastings Literary Festival, which is happening the last weekend 

of this month. I’m inspired by the idea of that too (and not just 

because I’m a featured author – see more in Notebook). 

Enjoy your Wealden Times. 

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Wealden Times Team 

Editor ....................................................................................... Maggie Alderson 

Editorial Assistant ........................................................................Rebecca Cuffe 

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Fashion Editor ................................................................................... Kate Watts 

Design .........................................................................................Powerful Pierre 

Design Team ..............................................................................Anthony Boxall 

Rob Cursons 

Freya Bruce 

Tanya Goldsmith 

Managing Director ........................................................................ Julie Simpson 

Commercial Director ............................................................... Colin Wilkinson 

Sales Manager ................................................................................... Jen Shearer 

Media Sales.................................................................................Sarah Norwood 

Distribution ....................................................................................... Kate Watts 

Wealden Times Events Team 

Sales Account Manager ...................................................................... Joy Adams 

Jude Brown 

Show Director ................................................................................. Flo Simpson 

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Previous page: The East Room is in a constant state of flux. The deck chair frames on the wall are from a past 

production This page: An arch of suspended books wittily frames the entrance to Archer Lodge 

Some of the most celebrated houses in the 

world have become such, not just because 

of the vibrancy of their walls, the luminosity 

of their windows or the verdancy of their gardens, 

but because of the lives lived there. The inhabitants 

of a building have as much, if not more impact 

on the atmosphere that is left behind. 

What would the Georgian terrace house in Doughty 

Street, Holborn be without the legacy of Charles 

Dickens’ residence there (and his actual writing 

desk…)? The grey stone Yorkshire parsonage that 

was home to the Brontë sisters would be a pretty 

country residence, but the lingering energies of those 

extraordinary siblings raises it to another level entirely. 

Archer Lodge in St Leonards is just one of those 

houses. Whilst not (yet) world famous, its charm and 

spirit are entirely down to the creative dreams and 

ambitions of a group of actors, musicians, engineers 


Above: The water clock in the hall was made 

by sculptor Frank Roper Right: Javanese 

Wayang Golek puppets in the West Room 

and composers who have come together to 

live there, creating something that is so very 

much more than the sum of its parts. The 

house is its residents and the unique energy 

that emanates from this sprawling red tilehung 

Sussex-vernacular villa, in the heart of 

suburban St Leonards, is like nothing else 

you will have experienced. It is a collaborative 

commune with respect, creative endeavour 

and a love of words at its very heart. 

Built in the 1890s by local Sussex architect 

Charles Archer Pigott as a show home for his 

Arts & Crafts inspired architectural language, 

the house’s ambitions in both scale and 

drama seem to have been tailor-made for the 

group of current co-owners that comprise the 

theatrical company Explore the Arch. The 

name is a witty play on both the name of the 

house and the traditional proscenium arch, 

which is so notably absent from theatrical 

productions produced here. Add in exploring 

and the name encapsulated what they do. 

They take ideas and words, fashioning 

kernels from the cultural ether, looking 

around themselves and at the world in 


52

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Left: A deconstructed piano, used in a recent composition. The collective are always looking for unwanted instruments to repurpose 

Right: Seddlescombe-based artist Mark Fisher painted this portrait of Jane Eyre for the ATownExploresABook17 festival. On the wall 

are young musician Ali Alana’s grid paintings, inspired by Rimsky-Korsakov’s synesthesia scale 

which they live, and create something within their home 

and present it to the world outside. Throwing open their 

doors and blurring the normally defined edges of what we 

consider private and public space, family and community, 

the real and the imagined, the theatrical and the every day. 

Walking into the house on a glorious sunny 

seaside summer morning, the first thing you hear is 

music. Not the usual banging bass that has become 

the backdrop to our everyday urban lives, at Archer 

Lodge it’s the sound of a violin, a recorder, a flute. 

The elegant notes seem to tumble from an open upstairs 

window, setting the tone for a journey through a house 

that is individual, inspirational and completely organic. 

Later I stumble across the source of this angelic sound 

and find a room crammed with five teenagers, practising 

for a forthcoming performance at Cecil Sharp House in 

London, not an iPhone or game of Fortnite between them. 

Folk-inspired music fit to stir the soul and, no 

doubt, the audiences that attend Archer Lodge 

for the series of multi-disciplinary performances 

that Explore the Arch produce each year. 

Archer Lodge is situated on a wide leafy avenue in St 

Leonards, near the very aptly named Bohemia Road. 

Like walking into the pages of an Esther Freud novel, 

it is words and books that are the backbone of this 

home-come-creative-space – indeed you enter it under 

an arch of books, apparently suspended in mid-air. 

Taking me on a tour of the house is Gail Borrow, one 

of the founders of the company, along with engineer 

Paul Beadle and composer Vladimir Miller. A further 

cast of writers, artists, performers and, of course, musical 

teenagers appear and disappear as the house welcomes 

like-minded individuals from around the world. 

However, any sense of hierarchy or traditional domestic 

structures are firmly left at the large front door, under that 

book arch which feels like the house is beckoning you 

 


The terrace overlooks the garden in which the company have 

created a series of outdoor rooms used for rehearsals 

 


56

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Previous page and bottom: The garden 

is dominated by a weeping ash grafted 

onto a standard ash tree, probably 

planted when the house was built – and 

which feels like a character in its own 

right Left: An arch echoes the entry to 

the house Below: Chairs which have 

been rebuilt using found materials, as 

they have weathered over the years 

into a world that has been re-imagined by this inspiring 

group of creative explorers and literary adventurers. 

Gail explains to me that the dramatic space Pigott created 

in Archer Lodge was the first thing that attracted them all 

to it. The sense of over-scale and of the building’s elegant 

grandeur perfectly lends itself to welcoming the public into its 

rooms. A generous hallway, decorated with a period Sanderson 

bird motif wallpaper and slate grey floor leads to two huge 

reception rooms and a large garden, all of which have been 

employed as stages in this very stage-less theatre experience. 

It was, explains Gail, also the feeling of light and 

shade, the juxtapositions so loved by the theatre, which 

also lured them in. The darker hallway and West Room, 

which doubles up as the foyer and meeting room, are 

the antithesis of the sun-drenched East Room, terrace 

and garden all of which are saturated with light. 

The sense of the darkness in the hall is further 

exaggerated by two large hand-painted canvases featuring 

the words of nineteenth century Welsh travel writer 

Richard Fenton. A water clock made by Frank Roper in 

the 1980s, the former vice principal of Cardiff College 

of Art, adding another intruiging distraction. 

Another element that pulled the company all the 

way from Waterloo, where they had been based, living 

in separate flats, was the grid patterns in the original 

Victorian cornicing of the major ground-floor reception 

rooms. The company, who perform around four or five 

experiential productions a year in the house and its grounds, 

employ the ceiling grids for their props and staging. 

Using skills Gail learnt from study of Javanese Wayang 

Golek puppetry tradition and through time with 

Australian shadow puppeteer Richard Bradshaw, after 


Above: The kitchen has been constructed around re-purposed antique 

cabinets sourced in Kings Road, St Leonards Left: The living and 

rehearsal areas are stuffed with exploratory work 

she left the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, objects 

appear to float, attached to strings that intricately connect 

the dado rails and ceilings. Inspired by scenes or words from 

the books from which they are performing, the individual 

props and words, made entirely from found materials, are 

dropped and rotated as demanded by each performance. 

Around the house are elements left from their previous 

productions. Little paper puppets sit on hall chairs and the 

white nightshirts of Dickens’ Great Expectations Pip and 

his deceased siblings flutter at the tall landing window. 

More remnants from the recent performance inspired by analysis 

of that classic Dickens work, entitled The House of Mrs Joe, which 

focused on the world of sister/mother figure of Mrs Joe Gargery, 

are scattered across the East Room. Dustpan brushes and an 

empty window frame, made from card, hang from strings, like 

birds hovering above your head. A large metal anvil sits in the 

centre of the room whilst musical instruments dot the edges. 

As productions come and go, Gail explains, so does the 

furniture, much of which is sourced from local antiques dealers 

such as Teddy Tinker’s, Kings Road Antiques, La Marette 


60

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Left from a previous production, the white nightshirts of Great Expectations’ 

Pip and his deceased siblings flutter at the tall landing window 

 


Left: Words fom Kipling’s feminist short 

story, The Gardener, are informing an 

autumn show to mark the Armistice 

centenary Below: A work by collage artist 

Anna Bachène Bottom: Words by Derek 

Walcott and a model boat collection 

found at Teddy Tinker’s in the bathroom 

are part of the recent production about 

the Windrush generation 

Brocante and Grand Designs, all in 

St Leonards. You don’t get the sense 

that any objects or pieces of furniture 

become permanent fixtures in Archer 

Lodge. They are simply elements of the 

next production. 

Gail and I take a seat at one of a series 

of long weathered wooden tables on the 

large terrace outside which were once 

the set for another production, The 

House of The Man Who Painted The Sea, 

inspired by Bulwer-Lytton’s 1830 novel, 

Paul Clifford. 

The terrace overlooks the garden in 

which the company have created a series 

of outdoor rooms, which are used for 

rehearsals. Sofas and chairs are planted 

in little vignettes, as hidden walkways 

invite you to take a moment to sit still, 

take stock and contemplate life. 

Back in the house Gail explains that 

the kitchen, filled with re-purposed 

antique cabinets, including one that 

is still lined with the newsprint from 

the Yorkshire Post of 1885, might have 

to soon give way to a new disabled 

bathroom for audience members. 

“Where will the kitchen go?” I ask. 

Gail smiles and shrugs, “No idea!” 

It’s like that at Archer Lodge, there 

is no grand plan, things just seem to 

happen as and when they should, in a 

manner which seems entirely fitting. 

Beginning to take shape in an upstairs 

bedroom known at the library, is the 

company’s Christmas performance. The 

House of Circus is being created from 

the Smart circus family archive with 


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Above: Bath-based artist Emma Joy’s painting hangs over a print 

recreated from Soviet artist Sergey Burylin’s work, Tractor Left: 

On the landing, a clutter of puppets and books 

descendent and visual artist Greg Smart great-grandson of 

Billy himself. Magnificent vintage Billy Smart Circus posters 

line the walls. 

In another bedroom are the initial words and ideas for 

the company’s August show, The House After Windrush, 

inspired by the book Lovers & Strangers: An Immigrant 

History of Post-war Britain by Clair Willis and Stories 

from Blue Latitudes: Caribbean Women Writers at Home 

and Abroad by Elizabeth Nunez and Jennifer Sparrow. 

Most importantly perhaps, the performance will feature 

the words of Michael Braithwaite, a member of the 

Windrush generation whose story was one of the first about 

the recently revealed scandal to appear in the Guardian. 

Fired up by the political situation unfolding every day, 

Gail explains how the company has been inspired by 

real life, art and literature for the performance which is 

set to open on August 6 and will run for two weeks. 

The company, who were behind the successful Easter 

festival ATownExploresABook18, located in and around St 

Leonards, will also be opening their doors to the forthcoming 

first Hastings Literary Festival (31 August – 2 September). 

Explore the Arch will be running a one-day Creativity 

workshop taking the idea of words and developing them 

throughout the day as a kind of Chinese whispers 

 


This page In an upstairs bedroom known as the library, because of the book wallpaper, the Christmas performance The House of 

Circus is coming into shape, with visual artist Greg Smart, currently an artist – literally – in residence 

 


68

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Above: A musical instrument left over from a 

recent production 

experiment showing how words can metamorphose 

and transform from group to group and person 

to person. 

In 2018 there aren’t many towns in the UK where 

a large Victorian villa could avoid the siren call of the 

property developer. So one can only celebrate that 

in St Leonards this large building has not become a 

faceless care home, or flat conversion and instead has 

remained intact, enabling a community of artists and 

actors to live out their dreams by the sea. 

Blurring the boundaries between life, work, art 

and theatre, reality and imagination, Archer Lodge 

and its inhabitants bring life to the true meaning of 

bohemian. And long may it continue. 

Address Book: 

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Hastings Lit Fest hastingslitfest.org 

ATownExploresABook Festival atownexploresabook.com 

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Teddy Tinker’s, 134 London Road, St Leonards 

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3 common kitchen planning mistakes 

Our showroom manager talks you through the most common mistakes our 

customers make when planning their next project and how to avoid them. 

Not planning for unexpected costs 

Don’t get caught out, most projects 

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make sure you discuss with your 

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A passage from India 

A bona fide legend of British interior design, Sasha Waddell has embarked on a 

charitable project designing beautiful textiles which will benefit impoverished children 

in Delhi – and are used to glorious effect throughout her own home 

Words: Nadene Ghouri Photographs: David Merewether 


www.elliottreid.co.uk 

Space?

Previous pages: The kitchen has shelves rather than cupboards, 

displaying Sasha’s collection of bright antique pottery. The 

floors throughout are old skirting boards treated with a Swedish 

product from Pale & Interesting This page: Another Sasha 

expert tip: chicken wire in the cupboard doors. Curated objects 

on the mantelpiece 

As soon as the front door opens, the unadulterated 

joyfulness of this St Leonards-on-Sea artisan’s 

cottage just glows. Entering a gloriously 

bright open-plan white living room it’s hard not 

to gasp at the deceptive simplicity of it all. 

A sofa, bench and period chair well-stocked with 

plump cushions you want to sink straight into. 

A simple white-painted wooden table flanked by 

matching painted chairs on one side and a mahogany 

antique bench on the other, covered with thick white 

cushions. Fresh, white walls – and everywhere, gorgeous 

throws and curtains in simple blues and whites. 

It is elegant, modern, timeless, cosy, relaxed and simple 

all at the same time with that oh-so-casually thrown 

together vibe that is so perfectly, cleverly and carefully 

done you suspect this home must be the work of someone 

with great skill when it comes to designing interiors. 

No surprises then to learn that Sasha Waddell is indeed 

one of the UK’s leading interior designers. The term 

‘legend’ is often overused but in design terms she truly 

is that. One of 12 interior designers listed in The Best 

of British Women, in the top 100 Interior Designers 

 


This page: White and blue is the theme throughout the house, with the different 

prints of Sasha’s fabrics for Room 100 adding visual variety 

by House & Garden magazine – where she is also credited 

as one of the most influential designers of the decade. 

More simply put, Sasha is the woman credited with bringing 

pared-back Scandi chic style to the UK through her legendary 

eponymous shop in West London, a global best-selling book 

New Swedish Style and numerous TV and radio appearances. 

Then there are all the design commissions, including the 

furnishing fabrics for the Venice-Simplon Orient Express 

train ad, revamping The Organ Room at Glyndebourne, 

as well as many private homes belonging to high-profile 

clients (although she’s much too discreet to say who…). 

Sasha’s inspiration was the essence of 18th and 19th 

century Swedish ‘Gustavian’ style – a cool and simplified 

interpretation of ornate French classical decoration created by 

the Swedish king Gustav III after a visit to Versailles in the late 

1780s – to bring fresh interiors, full of light, to this country. 

Inspired by the ‘informal domestic elegance’ of Swedish 

manor houses, Sasha’s signature is all about pared-back 

clean lines, lashings of white, painted wood and tactile 

textiles. Sasha calls it ‘bringing the outside in’. And her 

St Leonards home is a masterclass in how to achieve it. 

As you take in this extremely sophisticated simplicity, 

in Sasha’s open-plan space, another theme jumps out 

at you: throws, curtains and cushions in different 

patterns of stripes, paisley, florals and checks. 

And it’s no coincidence that they all go together so 


82

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Sasha calls her style of sophisticated 

simplicity “bringing the outside in” 

This page: Looking from the main room through to the kitchen, with Sasha’s oversized paisley for Room 100 featured on the table 


eautifully, as all of them were designed 

by Sasha as a range called Room 100, 

specially to be made by local women 

through a charitable foundation in Delhi, 

India. The foundation supports women by 

teaching them creative skills to empower 

them, so they can make a living of their 

own (and of which, more, further on). 

Despite her extraordinary design pedigree 

Sasha is wonderfully unpretentious 

and funny, cheerfully confiding that 

her attic is “of course rammed full of 

stuff, so that I can live this tidy life.” 

Once the eye has adjusted to different 

shades of white in the main room’s 

palette – bright, soft, creamy, zesty – 

the detailing starts to pop out. Those 

pale stripped wooden floors. Surely 

expensive white limed oak, I ask? 

“No, very cheap”, confides Sasha. 

“Skirting boards. They make great floors 

because the boards are nice and wide. 

The effect comes from washing 

 

This page: The top of the dining/work table is a sheet of MDF painted with white 

emulsion. French windows open on to a courtyard 


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FOR SALE 

Normandy farmhouse 

near Bayeux 

About the property 

A delightful, traditionally detached 18c farmhouse. Set in approx 

0.5 acres of hedged, easily maintained lawned garden. The 3 

bed house could be easily extended on both floors into the dry 

attached outbuildings. Total accommodation area approx 90m 2 . 

Furnished, well decorated, ready for occupation as a permanent 

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source. The tiled roof is in good condition. Almost all wood 

framed double glazing. Benefitting from considerable recent 

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rear and end. Mains water, electricity, phone line. Tarmacked 

area at front for 4–6 cars, large garage for 3–4 cars. 

Location and history of the region 

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village shops, school and the famous Hippodrome Equestrian 

centre. Surrounded by countryside, farmland and forest. In the 

region of the Marais du Cotentin, between St Lo and Carentan. 

With Utah Beach 14mi, Bayeux 21mi and Cherbourg 31mi. 

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Contact Alan on hbsengineering@hotmail.co.uk for more details. 


88 

AlanMarshallWT198.indd 1 13/07/2018 13:08

Above: Looking out from Sasha’s work room, colourful art works grouped on the landing wall are reflected in a bright rug from 

Flushed, in Hastings Old Town 

them with a special Swedish product made of white lye 

that my daughter sells in her shop Pale & Interesting, 

in Rye, to get that limed look. Anyone can do it. 

“I love simple effects. I work at the table in here 

every day. The top is just white-painted MDF and 

whenever it gets a bit grubby I repaint it.” 

The bespoke country style bookshelves in the 

alcoves are covered with chicken wire, another super 

cheap but effective Sasha trick. “It just sort of diffuses 

the contents so they don’t pop out at you.” 

Encouraging furniture to ‘recede’ is another of Sasha’s 

tropes: “It’s more relaxing and makes a space look bigger.” 

Another tip is to have furniture on legs, hence wooden 

benches, showing the floor beneath, creating a feeling of flow. 

The wonderful thing about Sasha’s style is that it’s so easily 

achievable and inexpensive. No wonder the country fell so 

in love with her. The Scandi look she has championed since 

the 1980s is now so firmly entrenched in the UK as equalling 

comfort and relaxation, it’s hard to imagine a time without it. 

But before Sasha dragged us into our Scandi-inspired futures 

she reminds me UK homes “were full of festoon blinds, with 

yards of chintz you could strangle yourself in, everything was 

squishy and cluttered. It was so formal, with reproduction 

period furniture, and separate dining rooms and kitchens.” 

She was a trailblazer. “It was very unusual to be a 

woman in the interior design world, working on site. I 

had to be handy to convince people I could do it. One 

of the first jobs I ever did I created a big moulding above 

a door. The builder working with me said it wouldn’t 

work so I lost my nerve and made it smaller. It looked 

horrid, so I insisted we take it off and do it my way. 

And of course, the builder said it looked beautiful.” 

A former actress, Sasha brought her theatrical flair to 

design in this way, dressing homes “like a set for people to 

live their lives in, to be more relaxed with how they lived.” 

Above the fireplace is a huge ornate French mirror bought as 

a gift by her foster son, which she loves precisely because it was 

a present. It was gold, she explains “ but I painted it white...” 

Of course, she did. I ask if she ever feels guilty for 

taking the paintbrush over furniture. “Not at all. It’s 


This page: A change of colour scheme 

in the work room, with green painted 

furniture from Sasha’s Utility collection 

about making something as I want it. But if something 

is of superior quality the way it is, I will leave it as is.” 

She points, laughing, to a second ornate mirror – this one 

antique brass – as proof. 

The living room is packed full of books and intriguing 

ornaments including a 1930s Viennese sculpture, Swedish 

miniature furniture, little display boxes (made by Sasha), 

antique Dutch Maastricht dishes (which Sasha found 

in Sri Lanka) and some exquisite blue and white china 

bowls which she explains are Spanish monk’s bowls. 

“I found hundreds of them in a shop in the US, and I 

bought them all. I sold some in my shop and kept the rest.” 

What’s interesting is that although the look is simple, it isn’t 

minimalist. Sasha isn’t afraid to show the decorative or the 

personal, for example a framed birthday card and hats made 

by her milliner friend Brian Harris (who used to design hats 

for fashion designer Zandra Rhodes), displayed on the wall. 

The same juxtaposition of clean white and interesting 

objects is visible in the kitchen where three rows of 

chunky shelving set against plain white brick tiles are 

used to display more brightly coloured collections of 

antique pottery gleaned from her global travels. 

Sasha’s designer’s eye is clear again in how the different 

collections are artfully grouped together in little mini displays. 

A cluster of fruit bowls sits on a small table, covered with a 

gorgeous blue and white paisley tablecloth by Room 100. 

Doors open onto a little suntrap courtyard garden, with 

a painted chair and table covered with another paisley 

tablecloth, this one a zesty lime green, perfectly set against the 

greenery of lavender in vintage pots. Even the storage shed 


90

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EverestHomeImprovementsWT198.indd 1 24/07/2018 16:27

Above left: The vintage bathroom cabinet was given to Sasha by her brother, fashion illustrator and designer Gavin Waddell. Right: 

The linen-weight ticking used for the shower and cupboard curtains is Rural Stripe in Swedish Blue, the blind is Flower, also in 

Swedish Blue, both from the Floral Chic Collection by Room 100 available from Pale & Interesting 

is ‘dressed’ with vintage embroidered linen curtains creating 

the impact of another room, rather than a utility area. 

Retiring to St Leonards nine years ago, to be closer to her 

family, was life changing for Sasha and one she has no regrets 

about – but the quiet retirement didn’t quite go as planned. 

Sasha also has a home in Goa, India and one of her Indian 

neighbours there is the son of the original founder of the 

formerly mentioned charity Swami Sivananda Memorial 

Institute (SSMI), which supports women by teaching them 

creative skills, feeds 20,000 people a day from kitchens set up 

in the slums and educates 1,000 children in its own school. 

Sasha went to visit their work and was blown away. 

“They found a whole family of traditional block 

printers living in the slums and brought them to the 

workshop to train others. I could see these products 

had such potential and I was so impressed by the ethics 

of the charity. They were selling their products to the 

Indian market but not globally. So here I come in.” 

Sasha has worked with them to set up Room 100, as a 

range of textiles including homewares, curtains, cushions, 

table linen, clothing and accessories. “I designed it so as 

many women as possible would be employed and be able 

to utilise their skills in embroidery, sewing, printing.” 

She’s overseen a new Room 100 website, designed a Delhi 

showroom (white of course) and has worked directly with 

the women printers to design new textiles with a more global 

appeal using soft-as-butter cottons, linens, silks and voile. 

“They already did a paisley design, but it was small 

and busy. I made it bigger, added more space. It’s 

the Swedish thing. This way the pattern is calmer, 

it recedes instead of jumping out at you.” 

Heading upstairs the Indian textiles come into their 

own in a new context. Sasha’s bedroom is a glorious 

cornucopia of soft blue and white cotton throws, 

curtains and cushions in stripes, checks and florals. 

“It’s a bit over the top in here, a bit Doris Day in 

Calamity Jane,” she laughs. 

Above the bed is a group of framed miniatures which 

look antique, but it turns out some are old postcards 

Sasha framed herself as a child and two were hand 

painted by Sasha’s mum. “She taught me about history 

through paintings. It was such a good way to learn.” 

Two pretty blue-and-white painted mirrors, which 

go so well with the Indian fabric I assume they must 


This page: With white-painted furniture and floorboards, and 

blue and white Room 100 fabrics, the bedroom is a perfect 

example of the sense of nurturing calm created by Sasha’s 

sophisticated simplicity, set off by a few feature artworks 

have come from there, were in fact hand-painted by 

her daughter Atlanta Bartlett (also a notable interior 

designer, whose work has been featured several times 

in this magazine) when she was at university. 

The small, but delightful, bathroom is another showcase 

for a more unusual use of the Room 100 textiles. The 

shower is hidden behind a blue striped curtain, with a 

delicate floral blind made from the same fabric covering 

the window. Continuing the colour theme onto the floor 

is a checked blue-and-white patterned Swedish runner. 

Sasha’s office next door marks a change with green painted 

furniture from her Utility furniture collection. It is inspired 

by 1930s interiors but still looks up to date and modern. 

“That’s the essence of it. It’s simple so it doesn’t date. 

Everything the Swedes did had been taken from the 

French style and simplified. So I did the same. I took 

French furniture and simplified it. I couldn’t design one 

piece and sell it; I had to design the whole look, lights, 

furniture ranges, textiles, so that people could achieve it.” 

And that’s precisely what she’s now doing with 

Room 100 and Swami Sivananda. A chance meeting 

that has resulted in a perfect marriage of Sasha’s 

design skills and Indian artisan craftsmanship. 

To help the range to grow – and with it the benefits 

to these impoverished families, so they can support 


94

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BathroomShopWT198.indd 1 23/07/2018 ChartwellOakBuildingsWT195.indd 14:15 

1 11/04/2018 17:17

Above: An arrangement of Sasha’s signature white objects, is 

set off by a burst of colour in a painting, echoed by the real 

peonies in the jug 

themselves - Sasha would love to hear from other 

outlets interested in stocking the range. 

“This is just a start. I want to find stockists 

across England and Europe. My whole 

reason for getting involved is to earn money 

for the charity to continue and grow. 

“The children who come in are often so malnourished 

it can take a few weeks for them to recover before they 

can even begin learning. They need food and clothing. 

“If I can use my skills to help, then it will 

be a very good ‘retirement’ indeed.” 

Address Book: 

Room 100 room100-ssmi.com 

Pale and Interesting, 3 Landgate, Rye 01797 344077 

paleandinteresting.com 

Who’s Wearing What, 34 London Rd, St Leonards-on- 

Sea 01424 272925 whoswearingwhat-boutique-co.uk 

Swami Sivananda Memorial Institute, Delhi ssmi.in 

The Room 100 range is currently stocked in Pale and Interesting in Rye and Who’s Wearing What in St 

Leonards. If you are interested in becoming a stockist please contact Sasha via info@sashawaddelldesign.com 


E 

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GrahamClarkeWT198.indd 1 10/07/2018 TraditionalBespokeFurnitureWT194.indd 11:53 

1 16/03/2018 09:52

1 2 

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Get 

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l 

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6 

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1 Galvanised pendant light £76 Hurn & Hurn hurnandhurn.com 2 Handwoven wool runner £180 Ana Noush 

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DavidCarpenterWT198.indd 1 24/07/2018 15:51 

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100 

DavidCarpenterWT198-advertorial.indd 1 24/07/2018 15:50

Hammer time 

Forget Bargain Hunt... auction houses are changing and 

it’s time to get excited about them again 

Star item 

“I fished a table writing box 

out of a car boot fair once. I 

saw it in the owner’s boot and 

asked what he was doing with 

it, he said it was going up the 

tip. I told him he should try 

auctioning it, thinking it was 

19th century Anglo-Indian or 

Portuguese. He did put it up 

for auction and a couple of 

bidders both reckoned it was 

18th century – they ended 

up driving it up to £5,000 – 

£6,000, all for a box which 

was headed up the tip!” 

Nick Crabb 

Crow’s Auction Gallery 

The real benefit of buying with 

auction houses is that you only 

pay market value, which could be a 

third or quarter of what you would 

pay in a retail setting. You may have 

to do some extra work but you get a 

much better price. 

The Lingo 

Provenance 

This is evidence of an item’s history 

and/or origin which indicates 

authenticity or quality. 

If you have a piece of paper (a photo 

or will for example) you have proof 

of an item’s story. People always want 

provenance and if you have it the item 

will sell better. 

Post-sale online auction 

At Crow’s, every lot is sold live in the 

auction room and on three auction 

platforms live online. 

If an item is not sold it gets uploaded 

onto a post-sale online auction, which is 

set up a bit like eBay. 

In a normal auction we sell up to 200 

lots an hour, but with this you have five 

days to bid online which is a lot less 

pressure. We sell 25% of unsold stock 

that way. 

Caveat emptor (buyer beware) 

The law assumes that the buyer 

has more knowledge than the 

auction house. 

Top tip 

“If possible view items in 

person. If you can’t and it’s 

something you’ve seen on the 

internet, make the most of 

the auction house, request a 

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or describe the item over the 

phone and you can get a better 

understanding of it” 

You can bring items back if there’s 

an inconsistency with the description 

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If you want to know more about an 

item or check on something you can 

always call the auction house. 

Nick Crabb, Director/Owner, Crow’s 

Auction Gallery, Dorking 

01306 740382 

crowsauctions.co.uk 

 


Leslie Gillham Gorringe’s 

My first experience of an auction 

house was going to work at one 

– here at Gorringe’s – around 1968, as 

a bookkeeper and porter. Since then 

I’ve been a director at Bonhams in 

Knightsbridge and vice president of 

Phillips in New York, but after all that 

I ended up coming full circle back here 

to Gorringe’s. 

Auctions work on cycles like that 

too, but generational ones. The same 

thing that’s happening now happened 

Star item 

in the 20s. An entire generation looked 

at the antiques world and said ‘Why 

do we want all this old stuff?’ and the 

classic 20s art deco style was born 

This continued until the 60s, when 

interest in antiques started to grow 

again and from then to the 2000s prices 

went up and up. Now it’s going down 

again. The only exception is the very 

best stuff which will always do well. If, 

for example, you had a very ordinary 

George III mahogany table it could sell 

“This Indian sword sold for £7,000 last September and has a great story. 

It is a late 19th century fine Indian tulwar [a type of sabre], with an 

iron hilt, elephant’s head pommel and tiger knucklebow, all inlaid with 

gold and fitted with gems. The finely watered single-edge blade is inlaid 

in gold with the owner’s monogram TMS and it retains its silk-covered 

scabbard with engraved silver mounts. It was formerly the property of 

Leonard Harry Baybut (1900-1960) and thence by descent. Having 

served in the RAF in World War I, he went to India and by 

1935 was running his own furniture factory in Srinagar. He 

was awarded the contract to refurnish gulab Bhavan, the 

summer palace of the Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir, 

and as a result he struck up an enduring friendship 

with the last Maharaja, Hari Singh (1895-1961) in the 

mid-1940s. The relationship developed further when 

Leonard accepted the post of private secretary to the 

Maharaja in 1948-9, a position he held until ill-health 

forced him to retire and return to england in 1959.” 

Top tip 

“Some people think of the 

bidding process as scary and 

that they will accidentally 

wind up bidding thousands 

of pounds because they 

happened to sneeze or blink 

at the wrong moment. That 

never happens! The auctioneer 

can see everyone and any 

experienced one will know 

who is interested and never 

mistake say a wave or a sneeze 

for a bid. So just come, relax 

and enjoy it. And if you are 

worried, you don’t even have 

to go in person. You can now 

sit and watch live on your 

computer screen and bid with 

a simple click.” 

for around £150 at auction, but we have 

seen a pair sell for £2,600. Why? Well, 

obviously being a pair adds value but they 

were also the very best quality and had a 

good history. 

The internet is changing things too. 

Online bidding is increasingly popular. 

Now up to 40% of things we sell – 

especially smaller items like pottery or 

ceramics – go to online bidders. It really 

has been a revolution. 

If, for example, you put a specialist 

Scandinavian picture up for auction 

here in Tunbridge Wells you would get 

Scandinavian bidders online. 

Thirty years ago people would have to 

leave bids with the auctioneer, or phone 

in, if they couldn’t go to the auction. This 

all still happens sometimes, but it has been 

completely superseded by the internet. 

The one thing I would say about 

online bidding is that you can get delays. 

Experienced bidders see the difference 

because they can’t type as quickly as they 

can bid in person, but it doesn’t usually 

cause a problem. 

And of course you always have the 

backstop of a telephone bid which lets you 

talk to a real person who makes a real bid 

for you then and there. 

Leslie gillham, Partner, gorringe’s, 

Tunbridge Wells 01892 556860 

gorringes.co.uk 


102

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FrenchDepotWT192.indd 1 04/01/2018 10:22 

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JosephMcCarthyWT197.indd 1 12/06/2018 G&CGalleryWT198.indd 10:23 

1 25/07/2018 12:55

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Opening Hours: Tuesday—Friday 10.30am—5pm 

Saturday 10am—3pm 

44 High Street, Charing, Kent TN27 0HX 01233 714689 

Striking pieces borrowed from the most 

glamorous of bygone eras, to complement 

your unique style 

Elizabeth44WT198.indd 1 05/07/2018 OdylWT198.indd 15:07 1 12/07/2018 16:33 

Fine, vintage & costume jewellery 

Designer vintage clothing 

Vintage collectables 

Seasonal specials 

Unique gifts 

www.smashing-things.co.uk 

Telephone 01435 813 320 info@smashing-things.co.uk 

WT Wedding Supplement 

6 

VintageLionsWT197.indd 1 20/06/2018 16:22

Previous page: Kate dress, from £965, malmaison flower sash or crown £145.95, Tara Deighton Bridal & Bespoke taradeighton.co.uk; 

metallic clogs, £129, Kitty Clogs kittyclogssweden.co.uk; gold hunting coin necklace, £234, gold travelling star diamond necklace, 

£190, Pearl & Queenie pearlandqueenie.com; large circle necklace, £45, Crystal & Stone crystalstonelondon.co.uk 

This page: Louka dress, starting from £1200, Rembo Styling rembo-styling.com; stacking rings, £16, Crystal & Stone 

crystalstonelondon.co.uk 


Left and top: Dress, £850, Real Green Dress realgreendress.com; bouquet & flowers in hair, Sue Davies Flowers and Garden 

suedaviesflowers.com Bottom right: Cotton voile and tulle dress, from £1800, The Robing Room therobingroom.co.uk; rings left to 

right: top £16, Crystal & Stone crystalstonelondon.co.uk; pearl ring, £175, aqua chalcedony stone 22 carat gold on silver, £56, Pearl & 

Queenie pearlandqueenie.com; top £16, Crystal & Stone crystalstonelondon.co.uk; bottom labradorite stone 22 carat gold on silver, £40, 

Pearl & Queenie pearlandqueenie.com; top beaded £20, knot, £16, Crystal & Stone crystalstonelondon.co.uk; bottom hand enamel & 

amethyst ring, £156, Pearl & Queenie pearlandqueenie.com; top £16, bottom £16, Crystal & Stone crystalstonelondon.co.uk 


8

SUMMER 

SALE 

The One Stop Shop for Ladies Fashion in Surrey 

www.melitaboutique.co.uk 

57 High Street, Chobham, Surrey GU24 8AF 

Tel: 01276 856308 

Swattenden Lane | Cranbrook | TN17 3PS 

01580 713189 

www.charityfarmcountrystore.co.uk 

WEST KENT 

SHOOTING SCHOOL 

MelitaOfChobhamWT198.indd 1 24/07/2018 CharityFarmWT197.indd 15:34 

1 14/06/2018 16:02 

Concept 

Hair 

salon 

Open Monday to Friday 10am–5pm 

Telephone: 01892 834306 

• English Sporting 

• Skeet 

• 100ft High Tower 

• Lessons 

• Corporate Days 

Friday 3 August—Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club 

Monday 15 August—Young Shots Morning 

Tuesday 21 August—BASC Young Shots Activity Day 

Wednesday 5 September—Side by Side Grand Masters 

New Hay Farm, Old Hay (Off Pearsons Green Road) 

Paddock Wood, Brenchley, Kent TN12 7DG 

westkentshooting.co.uk 

50 High Street, Tenterden 01580 762 564 

Book online at www.williamcharleshair.co.uk 

or through our facebook page 


WestKentShootingWT198.indd 1 13/07/2018 WilliamCharlesWT196.indd 16:53 

1 10/05/2018 15:42

BIG SUMMER SALE 

SUMMER SALE 

NOW ON 

cashmere and silk knitwear 

NOW ON 

UP 

TO 50% Off! 

23 High Street, Tenterden TN30 6BJ 

Telephone 01580 761222 

Shop online at www.cashara.co.uk 

Hawkhurst-No6 The Colonnade Rye Road Kent. TN184ES 

01580 752118 

Rye- No12 High Street Rye East Sussex. TN317JF 

01797 224369 

Lewes -27 High Street Lewes East Sussex. BN72LU 

01273 480896 

www.countyclothesmenswear.co.uk 

p 

pencil us in 

Silk 

pTies 

Shaving 

accessories 

County Clothes Menswear 

Quality & Personal Service 

CasharaWT198.indd 1 11/07/2018 CordeliaJamesWT198.indd 10:23 

1 12/07/2018 10:23 

Canterbury Tenterden Reigate Sevenoaks 

fRNLtRnTiEORaItOnL 

EdIn aTiE 

Break free from the conformity and restriction of 

suit hire and invest in something that expresses 

your individuality. 

Call us today to arrange a consultation and 

enjoy the luxury of quality clothing 

and a personal service. 

Cosy 

Scarves 

Stripy 

Socks 

velvet finesse 

19 St Margaret’s Street 

Canterbury 

Kent, CT1 2TH 

2 East Cross 

Tenterden 

Kent, TN30 6AD 

6 High Street 

Reigate 

Surrey, RH2 9AY 

14 Bank Street 

Sevenoaks 

Kent, TN13 1UW 

01227 765294 01580 765159 01737 249224 01732 454068 

@countyclothescanterbury @countyclothestenterden @countyclothesreigate @countyclothessevenoaks 


10 

CountyClothesWT198.indd 1 11/07/2018 10:04

Main dress, £95, Hoopers hoopersstores.com; wedges, £200, Zaccys London zaccys.com; gold travelling star diamond 

necklace, £190, Pearl & Queenie pearlandqueenie.com; moonstone bead ring necklace, £40, hammered ring necklace, 

£35, stacking & knot rings, £16, Crystal & Stone crystalstonelondon.co.uk; in background left to right: shirt dress, £95, 

Hoopers hoopersstores.com; vintage dress, £550, Real Green Dress realgreendress.com; custom made leather fringe jacket, 

from £400, The Robing Room therobingroom.co.uk; floral maxi, £359, Hoopers hoopersstores.com; vintage dress, £550, 

Real Green Dress realgreendress.com 


The Robing Room 

Bespoke Service 

Beautiful handcrafted garments designed 

and made to measure ‘just for you’.... 


Adults & Children 




Prices start www.therobingroom.co.uk 

from £500 for wedding dresses, 

£85 for lingerie and £150 for Bridesmaids 

T: 01303 487230 

www.therobingroom.co.uk 

LINDAPOPEOPTICIANS 

FACEBOOK.COM/LINDAPOPEOPTICIANS 

WWW.LINDAPOPEOPTICIAN.CO.UK 

RYE ROAD • HAWKHURST 

TELEPHONE 01580 753744 

RobingRoomWT198-QRT.indd 1 23/07/2018 LindapopeWT198.indd 11:22 

1 10/07/2018 11:18 

The Robing Room 





www.therobingroom.co.uk 

purely beauty 

Beauty Salon & Clinic 

Hawkhurst 

Pamper Packages 

Available 

View our website for all our 

pamper packages 

Purenique Top to Toe 

- Mini Manicure 

- Mini Pedicure 

- Express Facial 

70 mins Just £60 

Book Online 

www.purenique.co.uk 


12 

Laser - IPL - Advanced Skin Treatments - Electrolysis 

Hair Removal - Advanced Facials - Massage - Nails 

01580 753383 Book Online www.purenique.co.uk 

EmmaFreemanWT198.indd 1 24/07/2018 PureniqueWT198.indd 15:47 

1 28/06/2018 12:45

This page: Honey Bear dress, starting from £1200, Rembo Styling rembo-styling.com; bar necklace, £36, moonstone bead ring 

necklace, £40, Crystal & Stone crystalstonelondon.co.uk; bouquet, Sue Davies Flowers and Garden suedaviesflowers.com 


Left: Crepe dress with beaded shoulders, from £1400, The Robing Room therobingroom.co.uk; mother of pearl earrings, £88, Pearl & 

Queenie pearlandqueenie.com Right: Ridely London silk devore dress, £699, The Robing Room therobingroom.co.uk; mother of pearl 

earrings, £88, Pearl & Queenie pearlandqueenie.com; floral headdress, Sue Davies Flowers and Garden suedaviesflowers.com 

A special thank you to all the team at The Dreys in Sittingbourne for working with us at their beautiful venue in the Kent 

wilderness. Visit thedreys.co.uk or contact 01622 236550 to find out more about their bespoke wedding service, event hire or 

glamping. Floral arrangements and headdresses Sue Davies Flowers and Garden, Sutton Valence suedaviesflowers@gmail.com / 

suedaviesflowers.com / 07703 413522 


14

Say “I do” 

IN THE GARDEN OF ENGLAND 

YOUR BESPOKE KENT COUNTRYSIDE WEDDING 

AT EASTWELL MANOR 

Choose from our grand oak panelled manor house or whimsical walled garden to host your civil ceremony and reception. 

With sublime cuisine and the finest selection of wines, elegant bedrooms, a Champneys spa for the 

ultimate pre-wedding pamper and stunning grounds for a picture perfect backdrop, 

Eastwell Manor is more than a breath-taking setting; it’s a place where dreams are made. 

FAIRY TALE 

WINTER WEDDINGS 

SPRING & SUMMER 

WEDDINGS 

EXCLUSIVE 

HIRE 

from £6,500 from £8,950 from £25,000 

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SPEAK TO A MEMBER OF OUR WEDDING TEAM 

PLEASE CALL 01233 213020 OR VISIT EASTWELLMANOR.CO.UK

WEDDINGS AT BANNATYNE 

SPA HOTEL HASTINGS 

Situated in the heart of 1066 Country, between the historic towns of 

Battle and Hastings, this stunning Georgian country house can be exclusively 

yours for your special day. Fall in love with it’s unique character and style, 

a modern boutique hotel, with many original features. 

Whether it’s one of our all inclusive packages or a bespoke package to suit your exact 

requirements, our dedicated wedding team will be happy to assist in making your day perfect. 

Contact our events team now to arrange your show round and receive a personalised quote. 

Small and Intimate packages available from £550 

All inclusive packages available from £3500 

Bespoke packages also available 

Quote “Wealden Times” when booking your viewing and we will honour our 2019 prices for all 2020 weddings. Phone 

01424 851222 (opt 2) or email events.hastingshotel@bannatyne.co.uk for more information. 

Follow us on social media for all our latest offers!

IIII 

IIII 

Moonstruck rose earrings 

£35 Ivory & Co 

ivoryandcotiaras.co.uk 

V Jewellery Luna pendant 

£65 Fenwick Tunbridge Wells 

fenwick.co.uk 

Titania crown £1,295 

Hermione Harbutt 

hermioneharbutt.com 

Platinum ear studs with 

emerald cut diamonds 

£3,260 Prestons 

prestonsdiamonds.co.uk 

Sienna headband £35 Silver Sixpence 

in her Shoe 

silversixpenceinhershoe.co.uk 

Charlotte Wise Photography 

IIII 

Cleo pearl and crystal headress 

£485 Snow Jewels snowjewels.co.uk 

The 

Wedit 

WGet ready for your close up with 

some fabulous accessories 

Cleo headress £190 Donna Crain 

donnacrain.com 

Deco back necklace £235 Hermione 

Harbutt hermioneharbutt.com 

Back necklace £89 Not on the 

High Street notonthehighstreet.com 

Pearl Pendant £59.95 

Annabel James 

annabeljames.co.uk 

Head chain £95 Silver Sixpence in 

her Shoe silversixpenceinhershoe.co.uk 

Flower crown with detachable veil 

Pelican Rose £125 pelicanrosebride.com 

IIII 

Timeless necklace £236 

Links of London 

linksoflondon.com 

Cinnamon Rose hair vine 

£185 Ivory & Co 

ivoryandcotiaras.co.uk 

Ostrich Feather Stole 

£95 Pretty Eccentric 

prettyeccentric.co.uk 

Stud earrings £265 

Pandora uk.pandora.net 


3 magnificent oak beamed function rooms, 

self-contained with their own bar and toilets. 

Licenced for Civil Ceremonies. 

Off peak discounts available. Ample free parking. 

Unique photo opportunities in the High Rocks National Monument. 

2 am licence for drinking and dancing. 

No venue hire charge. 

Call us now on 01892 515 532 to arrange 

a viewing or visit www.highrocks.co.uk 

The High Rocks | Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN3 9JJ

Marmalade £59 Office 

office.co.uk 

Felicity wedges £235 

Freya Rose freyarose.com 

Marci gladiators 

£39 Kurt Geiger 

kurtgeiger.com 

Isha gold shoes £135 

Lisa Kay lisakayshoes.com 

Lisa Kay shoes available 

at Melita of Chobham 

motherofthebridechobham.co.uk 

Penelope pom pom sliders £35 

Accessorize uk.accessorize.com 

ead 

H heels 

Forget glass slippers and painful stilettos – 

over 

happy feet make for a happy wedding and 

at an outdoor venue practicality is a must! 

Studded sandals 

£30 River Island 

riverisland.com 

Broderie tennis shoes £49 

Bensimon bensimon.com 

Mel sandals £59 

Office office.co.uk 

Lucy beaded sandal £35 

Accessorize uk.accessorize.com 

Mules rule 

Otter mules £129 Kurt 

Geiger kurtgeiger.com 

Nick of Time heels £89.99 

Irregular Choice irregularchoice.com 

Boden sandals £150 

John Lewis johnlewis.com 

Espadrille sandals 

£45 River Island 

riverisland.com 

Charlotte flats £99 

Dune dunelondon.com 


The great British 

cake off 

Forget those rock hard white 

edifices, the modern wedding 

cake is as fun as it is scrumptious 

(and it’s not always a cake...) 

What does a wedding 

cake look like in 2018? 

Increasingly not shiny white 

tiers of rock-hard icing over the yellow 

marzipan layer so many people loathe 

and solid fruity cake that isn’t much 

more popular. 

Today’s bride – the Duchess of Sussex 

included – wants a cake as relaxed and 

fun as the rest of her wedding. 

Loulou Hamilton of the wonderful 

Cocolicious café in Cranbrook has been 

creating this much more laid back and 

modern take on the great celebration 

cake, since she opened four years ago. 

“We like making wedding cakes 

which are as natural as possible,” she 

says. “Definitely no fondanted ones! We 

do ‘naked’ cakes, with no icing at all 

on the sides, so you can see the layers 

of sponge, which are very popular, and 

‘rough’ buttercream icing – as above –in 

pretty colours, applied in a deliberately 

loose way, with fresh flowers. It’s all 

much more relaxed. 

“Another detail people love is having 

different flavours in every layer. The 

taller cake in the picture here has layers 

of elderflower and lemon, salted caramel 

and raspberry rose.” 

Taking the idea of a choice of flavours 

further is the new idea of having not 

just one cake – but a whole ‘dessert 


20

table’ of different sweet treats. 

“It’s been big in America for a while,’ 

says Loulou. “People have seen it on 

Pinterest and Instagram – which are 

a huge source of inspiration and have 

created a boom in beautiful, visual ideas 

for wedding cakes – and have started to 

ask for it here. 

“I think it’s a lovely idea, because 

instead of having a formal pudding 

delivered to each guest by waiters, 

guests get up and mingle at the desserts 

table. It’s a great conversation starter.” 

And, really, compared to the oldstyle 

cakes, so dessicated and rigid that 

slices of them could be sent through the 

post to invitees who couldn’t make the 

wedding, how joyous to choose between 

glazed doughnuts, cupcakes, layers of 

delicious sponge – and the lamingtons 

which Loulou has made Cocolicious’s 

signature treat. (Indeed they are now 

sold, beautifully boxed, in Selfridges.) 

Cutting the cake has never been 

more fun. 

Contact Loulou Hamilton via 

askloulou@cocolicious.co.uk 

You can see more of their cakes on 

Instagram @cocoliciouscranbrook and 

online at cocolicious.co.uk 

Cocolicious, Stone Street, Cranbrook 

01580 714954 


Giant Tipi Hire for 

Weddings, Celebrations 

and Corporate Events 

For a bespoke quotation or to arrange a free consultation, 

visit www.mytipievent.co.uk 

My tipi event 

Welcome to MyTipiEvent. 

We are a multi-award winning Tipi provider 

situated in the South East of England. Our Nordic 

Tipis or Teepees create a magical and spacious 

atmosphere; allowing our customers to transform 

a blank canvas into a unique and extraordinary 

venue with almost unlimited potential 

Telephone: 01474 824021 or 07809 351182 

email: info@mytipievent.co.uk 

mytipievent 

MyTipiEvent 

mytipievent 

#perfectlypitched

Perfect day 

The venue sets the whole tone of 

a wedding and whether you are 

after laid-back festival vibe, or 

a wonderfully dramatic setting, 

there’s more choice than ever 

My Tipi Event 

Darren Smith 

“My children and my family are in love 

with all things festival – we camp a lot, 

we love the great outdoors. Three years 

ago we discovered Nordic tipis purely by 

accident on line and I decided to start 

this company, although I had no previous 

experience with any events industry, or 

weddings. 

It was only meant to be a part-time gig, 

six months in summer – I already had a 

retail business – but it’s blown us away. 

We’ve done 50 weddings in 6 months and 

it’s still increasing, but we are not going to 

let it grow too much, because we want to 

keep the personal touch. I’m at every set 

up and every take down. 

The people who book our tipis have a 

sense of adventure and don’t want to be 

pocketed into a formal wedding, they want 

something quirky and versatile, that can be 

pitched anywhere. 

We offer our ‘Giant Hats’ which are 

the really big tipis and smaller chill-out 

tents, plus catering tents. To help our 

clients plan what they want, we just need 

to know how many seated guests you are 

going to have and how many in total, but 

a rough guide is that for every 100 people 

you will need two Giant Hats. 

The smaller chill-out tents have low 

wooden tables, Moroccan pouffes and an 

open fire pit. We supply an abundance 

of giant marshmallows. They are a break 

away from the noise and hysteria, it’s a 

zone. We also have a wood-fired pizza 

oven in a little hat tipi with fairy lights, 

that’s very popular. 

We say, let your imagination run wild. 

We can create a traditional vibe with 

round tables and lime-washed Chiavari 

chairs, or festival route with rustic trestle 

tables and benches. You can use all your 

own suppliers for all the details, or we 

have a Little Black Book on the website, 

with all of our friends who, DJs, florists, 

caterers and cake makers.” 

My Tipi event mytipievent.co.uk 01474 824021 


The Dreys 

Dave Keulemans 

“Our venue appeals to people who 

want a festival-inspired, free-spirited, 

organic, bohemian alternative in a 

wonderful woodland environment. This 

is our fifth year and demand is growing 

drastically. 

The Dreys is family-owned and 

run and we are very aware of our 

surroundings, of the symbiosis of nature 

and humans working together. There 

are 80 acres of natural environment, we 

don’t use concrete anywhere, or plant 

anything, it’s all here. The couples who 

choose us are looking for this type of 

venue, because we are different. 

We have a fully licensed in-house 

bar and we sell all local Kent products, 

like Chapel Down wines and cider 

from The Kent Cider Company. Our 

alcohol supplier is Page & Sons, which 

has been operating in Ramsgate since 

the Napoleonic era. We try not to bring 

things in from outside the county. 

A special feature is the ceremony area, 

a lovely spot in the woods with oaks 

and old hornbeams and natural arches. 

Guests pull up in the car park, in 

front of a mass of woodland, then they 

go through a tiny little doorway onto a 

secret pathway meandering through the 

woodland to the ceremony area. 

We are licensed for civil partnerships 

and marriages. After the ceremony it’s 

another 50 metres through the woods to 

the venue. 

There is a 15 x18m marquee with 

wood flooring, outside there is a fire pit 

with daybeds and additional seating and 

it’s all professionally wired for sound, 

with festoon lighting throughout. We 

have capacity for 60 to 500 people and 

a licence until 2am. 

You can bring your own food and 

entertainment – we have a system for 

DJs and band. We give people a lot of 

freedom, but we can also recommend 

food suppliers that have been used on 

the site and were great. 

And if it rains, that’s fine. Everything 

is under cover and you can bring wellies 

and brollies to walk to the venue.” 

The Dreys, Squirrel Wood, Rumstead Lane, Stockbury, Sittingbourne ME9 7RT 01622 236550 thedreys.co.uk 

 

Wedding photos by Mark Gray weddingevent.photography 


24

Together we will 

create your unique, 

perfect celebration 

DECORATED FEASTING BOXES 

FOR YOUR SPECIAL DAY 

Free yourself and your guests from formalities. Dive into 

apple crates filled with a fabulous feast, tailored to suit your 

tastes. Our gourmet sharing boxes are decorated to your 

theme, forming the perfect centrepiece for your table. 

Great for a Tipi, Yurt or outside at a festival style wedding. 

We offer something beautiful, delicious and different for 

all occasions: weddings, hen parties, shooting parties, 

birthdays, festive events, or glamping. 

Boho Events 

boxed-weddings.co.uk 

boxedweddings 

Call The Girls@BOXED 

07767 830167 / 07858 154908 

Sissinghurst Road, Biddenden TN27 8DQ 

01580 292992 www.glampingwedding.co.uk 

Baldwins Travel Group 

BoxedWeddingsWT198.indd 1 17/07/2018 BloomsburysBiddendenWT198.indd 14:17 

1 20/07/2018 12:55 

Picture courtesy of Sandals 

In association with 

www.baldwinstravel.co.uk/weddings 

E:weddings@baldwins-travel.co.uk T:01892 506401 


BaldwinsTravelWT198.indd 1 16/07/2018 11:14

High Rocks 

Giuseppe 

“Our venue is very special, because 

it’s on a site that contains an official 

National Monument – a Stone Age 

camp – and the amazing sandstone rock 

formations, that can be accessed by a 

system of eleven bridges. 

There is also a station for the Spa 

Valley Railway in our garden, so the 

bridal party – or the whole wedding 

– can arrive by steam train. You 

can hire one carriage, or the whole 

train, boarding at Tunbridge Wells, 

Groombridge or Eridge. You can even 

start at London Bridge, change at 

Eridge and arrive at High Rocks. 

When we came here there was just 

a tiny restaurant. We moved the Great 

Hall Barn here from Herefordshire. We 

also have the Halt and the President’s 

Suite, depending on the guest numbers. 

We are a venue at the affordable end 

of the market, where we do everything 

for the bride and groom, you can get 

married here and all our food is homecooked 

by our dedicated team. We have 

chefs who have been here for 30 years. 

We don’t charge for the venue, you 

choose a package which is multiplied by 

the number of guests, so it’s very simple. 

The Rocks has been used many times 

as a film and video location – Merlin 

was filmed here and Enya made a video 

here - and offers the opportunity for 

the most amazing dramatic wedding 

photographs, including flood-lit nighttime 

photos which are something very 

special to have long after the wedding 

day is over.” 

The High Rocks, High Rock Lane, Tunbridge Wells TN3 9JJ highrocks.co.uk 01892 515532 

Yoghurt Rooms 

Aafke Bauer 

“We have been running weddings on 

our organic beef family farm in the 

heart of Sussex for over nine years now 

and since we built our beautiful oakframed 

barn in 2014 we have been fully 

booked year after year. 

As well as the huge barn they have 

full access to the farm, our three 

gorgeous Mongolian yurts and two 

stylish apartments accommodating up 

to 42 guests on site. We also have a new 

marquee, sound systems, an after-hours 

music room, camping fields, fire pits 

and play area, all with incredible views 

over stunning rolling countryside. 

Our couples book because they 

want something a bit different to the 

traditional hotel weddings. 

Most of our couples want a festival 

style or boho wedding and that’s exactly 

what we do best. 

It’s a DIY type venue where our 

couples have the chance and freedom 

to inject their own style and ideas and 

really let their imagination run wild. 

One of our beautiful brides wanted 

to be delivered to her ceremony on 

the front of our tractor in the bucket! 

Which we of course gladly did. 

It is lovely to see how amazing, cool 

and different their set ups can be. Our 

couples dream up their perfect day and 

we help them create it.” 

Yoghurt Rooms, Busses Farm, East Grinstead RH19 4NL yoghurtrooms.com 07543 941191 


26

St Julians Club 

THE PERFECT VENUE FOR YOUR WEDDING 

Tucked away behind Knole Park, Sevenoaks, St Julians is a beautiful 

19th Century house and gardens with spectacular views across the valley. 

At St Julians, we believe that your wedding day is uniquely special, and 

we aim to make it unforgettable for you and your guests. Our friendly 

staff can assist you in every aspect of planning your wedding, and are 

always on hand to ensure that your day runs perfectly. 

A UNIQUE VENUE 

BESPOKE PLANNING & EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE 

IN AN UNPARALLELED SETTING 

01732 458261 • INFO@STJULIANS.CO.UK • WWW.STJULIANS.CO.UK 

StJuliansClubWT198.indd 1 11/07/2018 10:39 


CHD-WT198.indd 1 03/07/2018 12:35

Sissinghurst Flowers 

made with love 

WEDDING FLORIST OF THE YEAR 2014-2017/18 

KENT WEDDING AWARDS 

Finalist 2016 

KENT EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESS AWARDS 

Regional Finalist (London & South East) 2014-2018 

WEDDING INDUSTRY AWARDS 

Multi award winning Wedding Florist 

www.emilyandme.co.uk 07581 294387 

Weddings Life Events Courses 

www.sissinghurstflowers.co.uk 

Telephone: 01580 852144 / 07977 142447 

Emily&MeWT198.indd 1 10/07/2018 MadeWithLoveWT196.indd 10:35 

1 15/05/2018 11:06 

Weddings and Events | Pick-your-own flowers | Courses 

personalised 

jewellery 

celebrate your wedding 

We create truly memorable 

gifts for your entire 

wedding party featuring 

the wedding location, date 

of the nuptials and an 

Ordnance Survey map. Our 

wedding range features 

pendants, charms, key 

rings and cufflinks with 

prices starting at £20. 

Please get in touch for 

more information. 

www.bloominggreenflowers.co.uk 

01622 298676 

awesomeweddingphotography.co.uk 

Use the code b0rn10 for a 10% 

discount on your first order 

www.bornandbredjewellery.co.uk | 07824 185470 


28 

BloomingGreenWT198.indd 1 17/07/2018 BornAndBredJewelleryWT198.indd 11:59 

1 25/07/2018 16:20

Flower 

power 

Choosing flowers for a wedding can be overwhelming – they’re all so beautiful! – so we 

asked two highly experienced wedding florists for advice 

Sue Davies, Sue Davies Flowers 

“My role is to guide them, which I 

do with a no obligation consultation. 

I show them images of weddings I’ve 

done and I have a pictorial library of 

different flowers, colours, types, so I can 

show them what I’m talking about. 

Usually they will have a colour idea, 

they’ve quite often sourced the dresses. 

After that conversation I will have 

an idea of what they want and I give 

people a mood board to look at. 

Instagram and Pinterest have changed 

everything and it’s great, giving people 

wonderful ideas. I did a great one 

this summer [see above] where the 

bridesmaids chose their own dreses, 

in different colours and that was my 

colour palette. The bride had all those 

colours in her bouquet and crown. 

Wild and informal tied bouquets are 

really in. They want to look as though 

they’ve gathered it on the pathway up 

to the ceremony area – and it takes 

professional skill to achieve that. I’ve 

always mixed hedgerow bits and pieces 

in with flowers. I grow flowers myself to 

use and work very seasonally. 

I also do complete artificial flower 

weddings, I once boxed one up and sent 

it to Greece. Artificial crowns are very 

practical and brides can keep them and 

hang them up, a lovely memento. 

The quality of artificial flowers is so 

fantastic now.” 

suedaviesflowers.com 07703 413522 

Image above Mark Gray 

weddingevent.photography 

Sam Reynolds 

Creative director Emily & Me 

“The first thing is to plan a budget for 

their flowers – and to make it realistic. 

Brides often undervalue the amount 

needed for flowers, but they are a major 

part of the day, they are the decoration 

of the venue and what the guests see. 

On our website we provide a guide 

to flower prices and we always route 

people there from first emails. That’s 

the place to start. 

Once they have a budget, they need 

to find a specialist wedding florist – 

not a retail florist – who fits with their 

ideal. The internet has made this so 

much easier, because they can look at 

websites and see what they like. They 

should also check out their reputation 

through reviews and whether they’ve 

won any awards. 

Then they can book a free 

consultation to talk through their ideas 

and bring with them Pinterest ideas, 

pictures from magazines, anything to do 

with their wedding. I love to see all of 

it. The more someone can tell me, the 

more I can get a feel for it. The flowers 

reflect the couple. We do some really 

wacky weddings and it all starts with 

these conversations. 

A lovely trend at the moment is 

arches covered with flowers, which are 

great if they are getting married outside, 

then they can bring them in and have 

them behind the top table.” 

emilyandme.co.uk 07581 294387 


Moonstruck 

We’re all online travel experts now, but for a trip as special as your honeymoon it pays 

to have the experts sort it (and who needs the stress with a wedding to plan?) 

Dorking Travel 

Alistair McLean, owner 

Baldwins 

Steph Witchell, Bespoke Travel Manager, Tunbridge Wells 

“A honeymoon should be the most memorable holiday 

you ever take – so don’t try to cut corners. Look at what is 

available online, but then come and speak to an expert on 

how to put it all together. 

Booking on the internet is fraught with pitfalls. If you 

book the flight and the accommodation separately and one 

falls through you’ve lost the other. An experienced travel 

agent will take away the stress from the bride and groom, 

with a personal touch. 

The style of honeymoons is changing. Couples are 

looking for experiences rather than fly and flop. They’ve 

done that before and want to have experiences – or go 

somewhere you can combine experiences and activities, and 

then flop for four or five days. People say: ‘We want to do 

all these things while we can, because the next step in our 

journey will be children and we won’t be able to afford it.’ 

We are doing a lot of safaris for honeymoons and I’ve 

even done road trips in America, Route 66. A wonderful 

option is Gaia Island resort off the coast of Borneo, which 

has rooms on stilts on a beautiful beach with rainforest 

behind. You can kayak through mangrove forest, go 

ziplining, snorkelling with the experts in conservation and 

see orangutans. 

But on the other hand, while honeymooners’ initial 

thoughts are the further away the more exotic it’s going to 

be, do you really want to spend 20 hours on a plane to the 

Cook Islands? Or would you just like to go to Positano…?” 

dorkingtravel.co.uk 01306 735757 

“The first thing we do when a couple comes in to enquire 

about a honeymoon is to sit and have a chat about what 

they are thinking they might want to do. Then we can 

elaborate on that and make suggestions they haven’t even 

thought of. It’s about talking to people, listening to their 

ideas and then telling them the options. 

We work with so many different operators and have such 

depth of experience across our branches, we can arrange 

anything anyone wants to do. We might suggest that they 

twin centre it, rather than just going to one place. Luxury 

train trips are huge this year. Not just the Orient Express 

to Venice, they also do trips in Peru and Malaysia, with 

stunning suites on the trains. 

A lot of newlyweds now are doing a luxury ‘mini moon’ 

short break right after the wedding and then saving up to 

do a proper honeymoon a year later. 

After a big swing to the internet, people are coming back 

to travel agents. There are so many dodgy companies online 

and we offer price parity with what you find there, but we’ll 

do everything for you and because of the contacts we have 

we can get room upgrades and added extras. 

Many of our clients have got their home already, so they 

start a Honeymoon Fund with us and ask for contributions 

to a honeymoon as a wedding present. They have cards they 

give to wedding guests with our contact details and guests 

ring in to us to make a contribution. 

When couples come in to pick up their tickets they get a 

bottle of prosecco and a wedding card – and we ask them 

to pop in and have a coffee with us when they come back 

and they show us their holiday pics. It helps us learn if 

it’s somewhere we haven’t been ourselves and it’s great to 

get feedback on hotels and trips, then we know what to 

recommend to other people.” 

baldwinstravel.co.uk 01892 506401 


30


Need to 

Lose Weight? 

Hands up all those 

who feel they’re in 

a constant battle to 

achieve a healthy 

and sustainable body 

weight. How many 

diets have you tried 

and failed, feeling 

totally frustrated and 

not knowing what to 

do next? 

Having had a weight problem for 

35 years, Rachel was desperate to 

find a way of being able to lose 

weight once and for all. ‘I had just 

about resigned myself to the fact 

that I would be overweight for 

the rest of my life, when I came 

across the principles of the Metabolic Weight Loss Programme. 

I followed these and to my amazement, I lost 3 stone in just 

over 3 months and then went on to successfully maintain my 

weight. The relief was enormous to have found something that 

finally worked for me.’ 

Rachel became passionate about wanting to help as many 

people as possible with their weight problems, which led her 

to become a qualified weight loss consultant. In the last 15 

years, she has helped over 5,000 clients from all walks of life 

to help bring their dieting days to an end once and for all. ‘My 

clients’ ages range from from 8 to 90 years old, so there is hope 

for everyone!’ 

One of the popular aspects of the Metabolic Weight Loss 

Programme is there’s nothing faddish about it. There are 

no meal replacements, diet shakes or diet pills. All the 

foods on the programme are easily obtainable. Clients 

frequently say just how easy it is to follow, they don’t 

feel hungry and are not having to constantly battle with 

cravings. The four stages of the programme are tailored as 

necessary to provide the maximum results for each client. 

Rachel and her team give weekly one-to-one consultations, 

guiding you through the programme with personalised 

support, lots of empathy and total conviction in the success 

of the programme. Email support is available in between 

consultations. 

Rachel Ricketts, Weight Loss Consultant 

Special offers 

for August 

Recent success 

“I was desperate to lose 

weight and you really were 

my last resort. Thanks 

to you and your team’s 

wonderful support I lost 

3 stone. I no longer get 

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now run around after my 

grandchildren! My blood 

pressure and cholesterol are 

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My doctor is delighted with 

my health improvement and 

so am I! I would recommend 

the Metabolic Weight 

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Christine from Hampshire 

‘This isn’t an open-ended slimming club,’ says Rachel. ‘We set 

your target weight at the beginning and then get on with 

the business of helping you lose the weight, addressing any 

difficulties along the way, then we concentrate on keeping it 

off – for good!’ 

For those who are not able to visit, a very successful remote 

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Clients often comment on how impressed their doctors are 

with their results. ‘My doctor is very happy– I’ve been able 

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one. Another doctor said, ‘All my lady patients on thyroid 

medication are struggling to lose weight, but you’ve lost 2 ½ 

stone despite being on thyroxin – well done!’ 

With an expected weight loss of 7-14lb a month for clients and 

hundreds of hand written testimonials, Rachel’s results speak 

for themselves. ‘I see real results daily, time after time I see 

people’s lives change in front of me.’ 

Call now for a free consultation. 

01342 327396 

rachel@rachelrickettsweightloss.co.uk 

www.rachelrickettsweightloss.co.uk

Your Perfect Smile 

for Your Perfect Wedding 

Contact us for your complimentary consultation 

Cosmetic Dental 

Treatments 

Dental Implant 

Clinic 

Facial Clinic 

providing 

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Combining smile and facial enhancement 

01580 752202 info@stonerock.co.uk stonerockdentalcare.com 

StoneRock House, High Street, Hawkhurst

Cocoa Mirage, 

Eye colour quad, 

Tom Ford 

£66 

Beauty 

Here comes the 

beautiful bride 

Meghan Markle – the Duchess of Sussex – set the bar 

very high, but Josephine Fairley has tips for all brides to 

achieve their big day beauty best 

Was there ever a more radiant vision than Meghan Markle 

(as she still was then) walking up that aisle on her own? But 

while we’re not all TV star perfect, there’s a lot that any bride 

can learn from her, starting with her complexion perfection. 

What we know for sure is that she has regular facials – from 

Nichola Joss, whose brilliant protégée Charlotte Connoley 

works at The Old Rectory Treatment Rooms in Hastings. 

Savvy brides book in for a six-month series of facials – and/ 

or facial acupuncture, which can be fantastic for glow and ‘lift’ 

– on a monthly basis leading up to the wedding, with the final 

facial perhaps a week before the Big Day. You don’t want any 

post-cleanse pimples breaking out that morning... 

Consulting with a facialist – ideally someone without a 

particular brand allegiance – is probably the best way to 

fine-tune a skin regime that works best for you. Through 

that magnifying glass, they’re able to see exactly what your 

complexion needs. 

Make-up is then the icing on the wedding cake – and 

Meghan’s was picture-perfect: natural, neutral and even with a 

few freckles shining through. (As a result, Google searches for 

‘freckle-friendly make-up’ are up 117%, FYI.) 

Of course you may have booked your hair and make-up 

artist the minute the ring was on your finger, but if you’re 

going to be doing your own maquillage, you can still tap into 

good advice from the pros: head for a department store, and 

have a makeover from a consultant whose look you like. Keep 

doing it until you’ve tried three or four ranges. Clinique, Bobbi 

Brown and Estée Lauder all give great on-counter makeovers. 

If you’re happy with the results, you can even enquire about 

the make-up artist’s availability for weddings. Although, if 

you’ve the budget, many top editorial and catwalk make-up 

artists will do wedding make-up at a price; check out the 

on-line portfolios at joygoodman.com and mandycoakley.co.uk 

Before settling on your look, heed the wise words of Daniel 

Martin, the A-list make-up artist who 

Meghan enlisted to do her wedding 

make-up: “In years to come you 

want to be able to look back at 

your photos and think about 

how great you felt in your dress 

on your wedding day, and not 

be distracted by how 

Hollywood 

Flawless Filter, 

Charlotte 

Tilbury £30 

trendy your make-up 

was in 2018.” 

Which certainly means avoiding the 

contouring/strobing/Kardashian-esque 

look that’s alas so currently prevalent. 

Tinted Lip 

He acknowledges Meghan does have incredible 

Balm in Zinnia, 

skin, so for the day itself, he recalls: “I started by Burt’s Bees 

prepping her skin with a clarifying toner, water-based £5.99 

moisturiser and a Korean sunscreen that also acts as a 

foundation gripper to lock down foundation.” 

That sunscreen’s important; although brides aren’t normally 

driven by carriage through the streets of Windsor, there will 

almost certainly be photo opportunities outdoors and you don’t 

want to end up sunburned. 

Daniel doesn’t actually talk specifics about product used on 

the royal bride – because the now Duchess of Sussex (our very 

own Wealden duchess…) can’t be seen to be endorsing specific 

lines, but my hunch is that it could well have been the cult 

favourite Etude House Surprise Mild Airy Finish SPF50, which 

you can find in the UK on Amazon. 

Then, Daniel Martin says: “I just balanced and neutralised 

any discolourations with concealer and foundation. I like to use 

water-based foundation, because it absorbs well into the skin 

without becoming oily over time.” 

You could try MAC Studio Waterweight SPF30, 

£27.50, Bobbi Brown Intensive Skin Serum Foundation 

SPF40B, £42, and Clinique Even Better Makeup, £28 

– but just as important as finding a formulation you 

like is ensuring a great colour match. 

It bears repeating – because I still see women in 

department stores experimenting with shades by 

applying them to the back of their hands – that 

foundation should always be tried on the jawline, 

to make certain it blends seamlessly with 

the skintone of both face and neck. No bride 

will regret carving out some time in her frenzied 

schedule to find her perfect foundation. 

A luminiser (also known as highlighter) 

was then ‘stippled’ over Meghan’s foundation, 

apparently – flattering and pretty in pictures, 

but only if it’s applied with the deftest touch. 

It’s wise to have a friend (or your make-up 

pro, if you’re using one) take snaps at your 

wedding make-up rehearsal – with flash, in daylight 

and in natural light indoors, so you can see how the 

light bounces off your face in photos. 


Studio 

Waterweight 

Concealer, 

MAC 

£27.50

Matt Page Photography 

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· Goldwell & Wideye stocked 

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Telephone 01233 503248 

/SRHairSpa 

The Courtyard 

Mersham-Le-Hatch 

Ashford TN25 6NH 

logo.pdf 1 05/07/2018 16:58 

SRHairSpaWT197.indd 1 15/06/2018 11:35 

“Makeup is so exciting, there are no boundaries. 

You can be who you want to be.” 

07837 553905 www.natashavaleriemakeup.com 

Dale Weeks Photography 

Beauty 

For that teensy touch of gleam, I’d recommend Charlotte 

Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter Hollywood Glow, £30. It 

goes on subtly, and is a buildable liquid. (There’s also a terrific 

on-line tutorial on how to use it, on charlottetilbury.com.) 

For blush, Daniel went for a coral shade of cream blush; if 

you’re cool-complexioned, go for a rosy tone, instead. I’m a fan 

of the new Revlon Photoready Insta-Blush, £9.99, which offers 

a Rose Gold and Berry Kiss option. Cream blusher is brilliantly 

blendable, but be aware: cream blusher doesn’t last all day. A 

whisper of your favourite translucent powder whisked over the 

top will help it stay put. 

As for eyeshadow, Daniel couldn’t have gone for a more 

natural-looking palette of browns, taupes and ivory, with a little 

touch of copper. For this natural-looking smoky eye, Daniel 

explains: “The trick is to lay down a base of cream colour all 

over your lid and layer it with shadow. I used shades of warm 

chestnut, cocoa and a smudge of rust into her lash line.” 

My go-to palette for this sort of soft, smudged look would be 

Tom Ford 

Eye Colour Quad in Cocoa Mirage, pricey at £66 but 

it’s one of the few palettes in which you’ll use every single shade. 

And no, those weren’t Meghan’s natural lashes. 

Daniel customised some lashes and applied to the 

outer corner, for that fetchingly doe-eyed look. But 

don’t try this at home; falsies are best left to the 

pros, for a wedding. Another option very popular 

with brides (and Mary Berry…) is to have some 

semi-permanent lashes glued on in advance at your 

preferred beauty salon. It’s worth having a couple 

of trial runs before the event to find the length and 

number of false lashes that feels right for you. 

Lips, are the finishing touch, but all Meghan 

used was a tinted balm. Layer this over a base of 

lip pencil, as balm can disappear superfast. I’m a 

Holo Pink 

Addict Lip 

Glow, Dior 

£24 

huge fan of 

Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip Treatment, 

£19.50 – try Rosé – and the fab, all-natural 

Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm, £6. 

Savvily, Martin revealed that Meghan 

had blotting papers to hand – a far better 

way for a bride to reduce shine than caking 

on powder, as they simply press onto skin 

leaving make-up intact, lifting off the oil. 

Shiseido Oil-Control Blotting Papers, £19, are my fave – 

almost slim enough to slip inside a Givenchy couture wedding 

gown, without spoiling the silhouette. 

Last, but not least, whether you’re getting hitched in front of 

a dozen good friends or several billion TV viewers, remember to 

have someone close to you carry a few make-up must-haves to 

the church and on to the reception, for touch-ups before those 

all-important snaps. 

And whenever your Big Day is, I hope the sun shines as 

gorgeously as it did on the radiant Duchess of Sussex. 

Jo Fairley is co-founder of The Perfume Society 

which offers perfume Discovery Boxes and 

online VIP membership with special events, 

competitions and discounts from leading 

perfume websites, plus six downloadable 

issues a year of award-winning magazine, 

The Scented Letter. perfumesociety.org 

Oil blotting 

papers, 

Shiseido 

£19 


NatashaValerieMakeUpWT198.indd 1 06/07/2018 14:50 

108


IDD Therapy has changed Sue’s life 

Main picture: Sue (centre) receiving a 5K 

cross-country Team GB gold medal 

Sue won the South of England Cross 

Country Championships last December 

Back pain and sciatica ruled my life 

for 16 years… but now I’m running 

again thanks to IDD Therapy 

Sue James is a retired tailor and 

keen track-and-field athlete, but not 

long ago, excruciating back pain 

and sciatica threatened to put an 

end to her beloved sports forever. 

Sue explains: “The pain started 

in my right leg; my partner Alan 

and I drove to athletics meetings 

and I’d find that it flared up 

during or after the journey.” 

Life became more difficult when 

Sue developed lower back pain; she 

couldn’t sit for more than half an 

hour without terrible pain. Going 

out for a meal or to the cinema 

became impossible for her. 

“My GP prescribed strong 

painkillers, but the side-effects 

were so severe, I had to stop 

taking them. I tried chiropractic 

treatment and I even went in an 

oxygen chamber… but it didn’t 

make any difference to my pain.” 

Eventually Sue was referred 

for an MRI scan which revealed 

degenerative damage to the 

spinal discs and facet joints and 

compression of some nerve roots. 

“My consultant arranged nerve 

block injections, but I had three 

rounds without any improvement. 

He suggested surgery, but I 

didn’t want to have an operation 

with the recovery time and 

possible risks involved.” 

Last summer Sue read about 

IDD Therapy, a targeted disc 

treatment which uses gentle 

pulling forces to draw apart 

spinal segments where discs are 

bulging or damaged, removing 

pressure from trapped nerves. 

Sue discovered that IDD Therapy was 

being offered at Wealden Osteopaths 

and Spine Centre in Goudhurst. 

James Pickering’s expert team uses 

the programme to help patients 

who find themselves on a merrygo-round 

of painkillers, manual 

treatments, GP and pain clinic visits. 

“I can do everyday 

things now like sit in a 

restaurant and enjoy a 

meal without being in 

agony the whole time” 

“I felt huge relief when I spoke with 

James; he took the time to listen to 

my concerns, examine my spine and 

review my scans. He was confident 

that IDD Therapy could help me.” 

Sue underwent a programme 

of IDD Therapy and afterwards 

noticed a steady improvement in 

her back pain; after two months, it 

had gone completely. Soon her leg 

pain reduced significantly and now 

it has virtually disappeared too. 

Sue is now enjoying an active 

life again and is competing in 

athletics events pain-free. 

“I can’t tell you what a joy it’s 

been to run without pain; it was 

thrilling be part of the winning GB 

team in the European Masters 5K 

Cross Country earlier this year. 

More than that, I can do everyday 

things now like sit in a restaurant 

and enjoy a meal with Alan without 

being in agony the whole time. 

IDD Therapy really has given me 

my life back. I’m so thankful to 

have found James and his team.” 

James Pickering is delighted: “We 

see so many patients like Sue who 

have been suffering for years, taking 

painkillers daily and struggling to 

improve with manual treatments 

and injections. Eventually, they 

are left quite despondent, not 

knowing which way to turn. 

IDD Therapy offers a gentle and 

effective non-invasive solution. It’s 

an invaluable part of our services 

- and our first choice for herniated 

(or ‘slipped’) discs and sciatica.” 

To find out about IDD Therapy 

and other treatments offered at 

the clinic, call 01580 212833 or go 

to wealdenosteopaths.co.uk

Private Care Service 

at Mealtimes 

Our Private Care Service carers can come 

to your house and help to prepare fresh, 

ready made or light meals. This help can 

form part of a tailored package of care 

that could help you stay in your own 

home for longer, rather than going into 

a care home before its really needed. 

We can assist those who need help due 

to frailty, disability or illness to live as 

independently as possible, with comfort 

and dignity, in their own home. 

www.townandcountryhomecare.co.uk 

Domestic 

Care 

£9.77 

per hour 

For a free assessment 

of your care needs or to 

receive your brochure 

Call us on 01580 762244 

Town & Country Homecare Limited 

102a High Street, Tenterden, Kent TN30 6HT 

17 High Street, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1UT 

TownCountryHomecareWT133.indd 4 04/02/2013 DrChristineWT195.indd 16:20 

1 13/03/2018 12:02 


110 

HBMedicalWT198.indd 1 16/07/2018 10:03

Wellbeing 

A Year of Wellness 

There is a lot more to our complexions than meets the eye. 

Our wellbeing editor, Eminé Rushton, tackles holistic skin 

health, from the inside-out 

Month: August 

Skin has always fascinated me. I 

think that’s why I circuitously 

made my way from beauty editor 

to holistic facialist, then back again to 

wellbeing writer… there are so many 

secrets and signposts revealed by our 

faces and bodies and the more I learn, 

the more I want to know. 

Our skin is the body’s largest organ 

and it’s incredibly receptive and 

intuitive. We blush when embarrassed, 

blanch when shocked – and we can very 

easily develop skin conditions overnight, 

when things within are just not right. 

So, to become allied with 

our skin, to learn to read its 

language and understand its 

signals, offers us not only 

the ability to keep it healthy, 

glowing and vital, but also 

to comprehend better what 

is going on for us beneath 

the surface. From our guts 

and nervous system, to our endocrine 

and psychological state. 

Following on from our discovery 

of the complexity of the gut and its 

multifarious and multi-functioning 

microbiome, we are also now learning 

of our other organs’ own microbiomes 

i.e. the complex community of viruses, 

bacteria and mites that make up the 

‘environment’ of the surface of our skin. 

There is a very delicate, synergistic 

equilibrium at play here – and meddling 

with it too much can upset the balance. 

As a holistic facialist, I learned very 

quickly that less is more. 

If you over-cleanse, 

strip, exfoliate, peel, or 

even over-moisturise, 

you are preventing 

your skin from 

carrying out its own 

“We can develop 

skin conditions 

overnight, when 

things within are 

just not right” 

vital and natural functions. 

If you have naturally oily skin and 

use oil-stripping cleansers and oil-free 

moisturisers, your skin will receive 

signals from its surface that tell it that it 

is low in sebum. So the sebaceous glands 

begin producing more. And more... 

If, however, you apply a lightweight 

oil to the skin (I like jojoba for its 

natural skin affinity, its chemical 

structure being most similar to sebum), 

the skin receives the message that it is 

amply ‘oiled’ and so, slows down its 

own production. Eventually, skin finds 

its own balance, and 

the cycle of stripping/ 

overproducing, is broken. 

Using purest plant oil to 

treat oily skin has been a 

failsafe part of my holistic 

approach for over a 

decade now – it works. 

Our skin has its own 

unique pH too; it is acidic and various 

medical studies have shown that skin 

with a pH of less than 5 is healthiest 

and less likely to develop eczema, 

psoriasis and acne (one of the cited 

reasons for this is that several of the 

acne-causing bacteria are inhibited by 

acidic conditions). 

This natural pH is called the acid 

mantle, and it can be difficult to 

maintain it. The average pH of tap 

water in the UK is between 6.5 and 9.5. 

The harder the water, the more alkaline 

it is likely to be, which can upset the 

skin’s balance quite significantly. 

If I have time, I use a cream or oil 

cleanser and then spritz with a floral 

water to remove, or if using a hot cloth 

to remove my cleanser, I wring the 

flannel out as much as I can, so that I 

am at least, not dousing my skin with 

our hard tap water. It 

might sound precious, 

but my skin is far less 

prone to redness and 

dryness as a result. 

I also like products that rebalance 

and correct the pH of the skin, in 

particular Marie Reynolds Dermabiome 

Mask, £68 (mariereynoldslondon.com). 

It contains live bacteria, probiotics and 

is naturally rejuvenating. And I steer 

clear of acids. I know there are many 

who use an ‘acid toner’ daily and vouch 

for the benefits. For me, though, I have 

found that prolonged daily use of acids 

can cause sensitisation (particularly to 

UV) further down the line, and I feel it 

unwise to continually ‘add’ something to 

the skin, which then disempowers skin’s 

own natural balancing acts. 

Support, rather than interference, 

is best. Using a layer of natural live 

yoghurt as an exfoliating face 

mask, once a week, will do the job 

brilliantly, without the abrasive 

friction of a scrub, or aggressive 

action of a chemical peel. Raw 

honey is also a fantastic face mask; 

deeply moisturising, anti-bacterial 

and brightening. 

I also support from within 

with lots of liver- and kidneycleansing 

teas: nettle, dandelion, fennel, 

chamomile; a wonderful gut-balancing 

probiotic, because yes, gut health 

directly reflects in one’s skin. (I swear 

by Symprove symprove.com). I also take 

highest quality food-grown supplements 

and find Wild Nutrition Skin, Hair 

& Nails, £30 (wildnutrition.com) is 

wonderfully complete. 

Ultimately, when it comes to our 

precious skin, what goes within appears 

without… so, gently does it. 

Credit: freeimages.com/Ettina82 

eminé Rushton is Wellbeing Director-at-Large at Psychologies magazine, and co-founder of the 

conscious living blog, The Balance Plan, balanceplan.co.uk

Wellbeing 

Natural wisdom 

Ella Carey is a qualified Natural Nutritionist, a 

certified GAPS Practitioner and qualified Kinesiologist, 

who runs Full Spectrum Health. 

What one piece of seasonal wisdom 

helps you in August? This time of 

year is a favourite for foraging, so many 

delights can be found in the hedgerows. 

More than a fun activity to do with the 

children, I see it as a key element of 

keeping my family healthy, as well as a 

lovely way to connect them to nature 

and eating seasonally. 

We make immune-boosting syrups 

from rose hips and elderberries, which 

are packed with vitamin C. We eat 

blackberries straight from the brambles 

for their vitamin content and their wild 

bacteria – the strains of which are so vast 

we haven’t identified all of them yet, but 

which are absolutely fundamental to our 

health and wellbeing. 

Bacteria play a key role in boosting 

our immune systems, and so along with 

foraging wild foods, we ferment a lot 

of food at home – beetroot, carrots, 

sauerkraut etc - to increase our beneficial 

bacteria intake. 

What’s cooking in your kitchen this 

month? Beetroot in all ways! Saltroasted 

beetroot with burrata and herbs 

from the garden is a delicious light 

dinner, and the kids’ favourite way to 

eat beetroot is the Indian dish halwa 

(not to be confused with halva) . It’s an 

unusual, but really tasty, alternative to 

your morning breakfast cereal, which 

is often low in nutrients and high in 

sugar. Beetroot’s great for anyone with a 

tendency toward anaemia or fatigue too. 

Share one book that taught you 

something amazing about life 

I was very inspired by Patch Adams’ 

book Gesundheit. The story follows his 

life after he graduates as a doctor and is 

wonderful at explaining the frustration 

he felt at the expensive and restrictive 

US medical system. He dedicated his 

life to creating a medical centre and 

a community organic farm run by 

health professionals and volunteers. 

Patients and their families could 

come and receive treatment, support 

and community – and organic food. 

What always brings a smile to your 

face? No matter how many people I 

work with, it makes me so happy to 

hear that people are overcoming their 

health issues through nutrition and 

natural healing practices. 

I especially love it when the nonverbal, 

autistic children I work with 

start forming words and making eye 

contact only weeks into the nutrition 

programme. It is a true testimony to 

the body’s innate ability to heal, and 

the most valuable and fulfilling part 

of what I do. 

fullspectrumhealth.work 

Drastic plastic 

Our use of this eternal substance continues to grow exponentially. 

Yet, we can all make very small changes that add up to an enormous 

impact. Try these tips: 

• keep a couple of thin cotton bags and an eco-cup/ 

bottle, in your handbag 

• pick loose produce in the fruit and veg aisles, and 

pop them into your own brought-from-home 

bags. Or better still, get to know your local 

greengrocer, who uses paper bags 

• pack food up in paper and string, eco Bee’s Wrap 

(beeswaxwraps.co.uk), in bamboo or wooden lunch 

boxes, or at a push, aluminium foil, which is fully recyclable 

• don’t buy plastic straws, or toothbrushes. A combo of bamboo 

handles with fully biodegradable Nylon 4 bristles are the best. Try 

Save Some Green (savesomegreen.co.uk) bottles or containers. 

Health and beauty tips 

Discover a wealth of wellbeing advice 

wealdentimes.co.uk/wellbeing 

Eminé says: 

Try this in August 

I’ve developed a ‘thing’ for room spray. The 

former asthmatic in me doesn’t get on well with 

commercial ‘air fresheners’, so it’s taken me a 

long time to find all-natural aromatherapeutic 

scents that I can spritz freely, to aid me in 

my work, focus and mood. I now rotate two 

beautiful favourites: Ilapothecary Beat the 

Blues Room Spray, £28 (ilapothecary. 

com) – I defy anyone to continue 

an argument after this delightful 

rose geranium and petitgrain mist 

hits the air – and Root & Flower 

Yoga and Meditation Mist, £20 

(rootandflower.co.uk) which is just 

the happiest hit of rosy goodness, 

and never fails to knit up those 

frayed nerves.


What is the CACI Synergy? 

We discover everything there is to know about the skin-transforming treatment, CACI Synergy 

Non-Surgical Facelift Facial, with Christine Bacon, owner of the Oaks Hair and Beauty Retreat. 

The CACI Synergy with pioneering S.P.E.D® Dual 

Action Technology* delivers LED light therapy skin 

rejuvenation and microcurrent facial toning at the same 

time. Clients experience a tightening and lifting of their 

facial muscles whilst at the same time experiencing 

a dramatic improvement to their complexion. 

What sort of issues does the facial tackle best? 

The beauty of the CACI Facial is that it can tackle so many 

skin issues in one treatment. The CACI Synergy incorporates 

a number of other pioneering technologies: Orbital Skin 

Resurfacing delivers a controlled skin exfoliation to reveal new 

healthy radiant skin, Ultrasonic Deep Cleansing rids the skin 

of make-up residue, blemishes and impurities whilst CACI’s 

unique Wrinkle Comb Technology targets deep lines and 

wrinkles to provide a non-invasive alternative to dermal fillers. 

How does it work? 

The microcurrent toning phase uses a combination of specific 

waveform and ultra-low frequencies that work in harmony 

with the body’s own bio-electrical field to provide an instant 

firming effect. LED Red and Blue light therapy is incorporated 

for skin rejuvenation and to promote skin healing. 

What about the dreaded wrinkles? 

The unique wrinkle comb application is used to effectively 

and painlessly plump out and soften deep lines and 

wrinkles. This is a wonderful needle-free alternative to 

dermal fillers and ideal for those reluctant to venture into 

more invasive treatments either by knife or needle. 

Is the treatment only suitable for women? 

Not at all. This treatment is great for men 

too. In fact, people of all ages will see instant 

and noticeable improvements to the texture, 

clarity and firmness of their skin. 

Does it hurt? 

No – the treatment is pain-free and very relaxing. 

How many facials do you recommend for optimum results? 

You will see visible results after just one session. 

A course of 10 treatments is recommended, 

followed by monthly maintenance sessions. 

Go to Oaks Hair & Beauty Retreat, 120 High Street, 

Hythe, Kent CT21 5LE or call 01303 261944, 

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The Big Day Package 

Includes a practice hair up for the Bride to be, wedding 

hair on the day and a honeymoon gift set. 

Price on consultation, in salon only, excludes VIP Salon.

Food 

Light and bright 

In our climate we need stodgy food to get us through the dark damp months, so make the 

most of high summer when these lighter bites are the perfect choice 

Breakfasts worth 

getting out of bed for 

Citrus Salad 

Makes 2 portions 

A ‘wake up’ fruit salad made with slices of zingy citrus fruits. 

• 1 large orange 

• 1 grapefruit 

• seeds from half a 

pomegranate 

• juice and zest of 1 lime 

• ½ teaspoon (or to taste) 

cardamom seeds 

• 1 handful of toasted, 

flaked almonds 

1If using cardamom pods, 

crush to extract the 

seeds, then peel and slice 

the fruit, arrange in a dish, 

drizzle lime juice, then honey 

and cardamom (mix this in 

advance if preferred). Lightly 

toast the almonds and scatter 

over fruit. 

• 2 pieces un-dyed smoked 

haddock 

• 200ml milk (or water) 

• 100g brown basmati 

rice, rinsed (you can use 

other varieties of rice, but 

brown basmati is healthy 

and more delicate than 

the class wholegrain kind) 

• 2 hard boiled eggs 

• 100g peas (optional) 

• 1 handful parsley, 

chopped 

• 1 heaped tsp freshly 

grated (or level tsp dry 

powdered) turmeric 

• 50g butter 

1Cook the rice according 

to packet instructions and 

hard boil the eggs. 

Kedgeree 

Makes 4 small portions 

Save this breakfast classic (very Downton Abbey…) for a 

weekend brunch, or make the night before if your weekdays 

are hurried, as it’s not the quickest breakfast to prepare. 

Adding sunshine coloured turmeric brings extra health 

benefits. This meal of a dish makes a lovely light lunch or 

supper too – increase all the ingredients by a half again (three 

pieces of fish, 300ml of milk, 150g of rice, 150g of peas, 1.5 

teaspoons of turmeric, 75g butter) to make larger servings. 

2Poach the haddock in 

milk for 10mins (put in a 

saucepan, cover with the liquid 

and put a lid on, bring to the 

boil, then simmer gently). I 

add peas to the fish towards 

the end of this time, but these 

can be cooked separately (or 

not used at all). 

3Strain the fish, reserving 

some cooking liquid. 

Combine the cooked 

ingredients, add turmeric, 

butter and, if you like a moist 

texture, some of the fish 

cooking liquid (exact quantity 

is up to you, I often don’t add 

any, so see how you go). Stir in 

the parsley, season to taste and 

arrange the eggs on top. 

Recipes & styling: Jo Arnell Photographs: David Merewether 


114

Light lunches & simple suppers 

Tangy chicken tacos 

Makes 4 small portions 

• 2-3 chicken breast fillets 

• 8 tacos or 4 tortillas 

• 1 red chili, thinly sliced 

• 1 bunch spring onions, 

chopped 

• 1 red pepper, thinly sliced 

• 1 little gem lettuce, 

shredded 

• 1 mango, skinned and cut 

into slivers 

• 1 crushed clove garlic 

• handful of coriander, 

roughly chopped 

Taco dressing 

• Juices from the cooked 

chicken 

• ½ tsp paprika 

• ½ tsp cumin powder 

• Juice and zest of a lime 

• 1 tbsp honey 

1If you are using tortillas, 

make the taco ‘containers’ 

by pushing them gently into 

a muffin tin - this will make 

a bowl shape, then oven bake 

them for 3 minutes or so - just 

until they hold their shape 

(i.e. don’t overbake them). 

Alternatively you can use premade 

taco shells, or simply 

roll the ingredients in the soft 

tortillas. 

2Gently fry (or poach) 

the chicken breasts for 

approximately 20 minutes, 

until cooked right through 

and evenly browned on both 

sides. Leave to cool slightly 

and keep the cooking juices. 

Shred or slice the chicken when 

cool. Make the dressing by 

combining paprika, cumin, 

lime juice and honey, then 

mix into the chicken and 

vegetables, pile into taco shells 

and serve. Shown here served 

with tomato salsa, made by 

chopping an onion, 3 tomatoes 

(skin removed), juice of half a 

lemon, a handful of chopped 

coriander. 

 


Za’atar Salmon with 

Cauliflower couscous 

Serves 4 

Omega-3 rich salmon is given a Middle Eastern spice up with 

a za’atar crust. Using clean tasting cauliflower makes a lighter, 

gluten free, alternative to a traditional wheat-based couscous. 

• 4 salmon fillets 

• Juice and zest from 1 

lime 

• Approx 3 tablespoons 

za’atar (Middle Eastern 

spice mix) 

• 1 tbsp pomegranate 

molasses 

• 1 tbsp olive oil 

Cauliflower ‘couscous’ 

• 1 bunch spring onions, 

chopped 

• a head of cauliflower, 

florets only, grated, or 

processed to course 

couscous-style granules 

• seeds from half a 

pomegranate 

• handful of mint, chopped 

• 1 tbsp olive oil 

Couscous dressing: 

• 1 dsp honey 

• 1 dsp white wine vinegar 

• 1 dsp olive oil 

• ½ tsp salt (to taste) 

• small bunch watercress 

and natural yoghurt to 

serve 

1Pre-heat the oven to 

150c/gas 4. Marinade the 

salmon fillets in the lime juice 

and zest for 30 mins. 

2Make the couscous by 

lightly steaming the 

cauliflower crumbs for 2-3 

minutes. Transfer to a pan, 

add the olive oil and spring 

onions, sauté gently for 

4-5 minutes, turn off the 

heat and add the mint and 

pomegranate seeds. Set to one 

side until you’re ready to serve. 

3Drizzle half the oil onto a 

non-stick or foiled baking 

sheet, lie the salmon pieces on 

the baking sheet and brush 

the rest of the oil on top of 

the salmon. Smear on a little 

pomegranate molasses, then 

sprinkle a layer of za’atar on 

top. Place in a pre-heated 

oven (150c/gas 4) and bake 

lightly. Cooking time will be 

dependent on the thickness 

of the salmon, but should be 

approx 10-15mins. Be careful 

not to over cook). 

4Mix together dressing 

ingredients and stir 

through couccous. Serve 

salmon on a bed of couscous, 

with a dollop of yoghurt, a 

swirl of pomegranate molasses 

and garnish with watercress. 

Avocado, matcha and 

pistachio ice cream 

Serves 4 

Generally ice cream isn’t on my list of healthy foods, but if you use 

avocado for part of the ‘cream’ texture, it suddenly is. The avocado 

fruit is mild-tasting, silky in texture and goes really well (and not 

just colour-wise) with pistachios. The addition of matcha green tea 

blends in even more anti oxidants. This ice cream is really easy to 

make and looks impressive (green, but impressive). 

• 2 ripe avocados 

• 75g finely chopped or 

ground pistachios, plus a 

handful more - roughly 

chopped to decorate and 

give the ice cream some 

crunch 

• 1 can condensed milk 

(or for a vegan version 

substitute 150ml almond, 

or coconut milk*) 

• 1 tbsp matcha (powdered 

green tea) 

• 1 tsp almond essence 

• 1 tsp vanilla essence 

1For a more intense, nutty 

flavour, lightly toast the 

pistachios prior to chopping/ 

grinding. Mash down the 

avocados, or puree with a 

stick blender to a smooth 

Fabulous food 

More recipes to make your mouth water 

wealdentimes.co.uk/recipes 

consistency, then add to a 

mixing bowl, with all the other 

ingredients and whisk together 

for approx 5 minutes, until 

well blended. 

2Pour into a container and 

place in the freezer for 3 

hours or so, until frozen. The 

magical thing about using 

condensed milk in this recipe 

is that it makes such a creamy 

consistency that you won’t have 

to stir/use an ice cream maker 

while it is freezing. Take out 

of the freezer 10 mins prior to 

serving. 

*If you are opting for the vegan 

version, take it out of the freezer 

and stir twice during the freezing 

process (or use an ice cream 

maker). This is done to stop ice 

crystals forming. 


116

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118 

WCLandcraftWT195.indd 1 13/04/2018 16:11

Garden 

Let the 

grasses 

grow 

Hakonechloa macra 

Not just something dull that needs 

endless mowing Sue Whigham 

exhalts the subtle effects of feature 

grasses in borders and for striking 

autumn colour 

In 1871 William Morris travelled down from London 

to see a house near Lechlade and fell instantly in 

love with the place. It was the house he had seen in 

a dream. We recently visited and could understand how 

he must have felt when he first saw Kelmscott Manor. 

After lunch we walked along the Thames Path for a while 

and took in the sedges and the reeds along the river. And 

earlier in the day, during an idyllic amble up the side of a 

barley field to the accompaniment of skylarks overhead and 

blackcaps singing in the wayfaring trees, I was thinking that 

perhaps we could grow a few clumps of barley (Hordeum 

vulgare) in our gardens. It’s beautiful with its golden colours 

and rippling movement as the wind blows through it. 

Grasses mingling with herbaceous plants provide a 

transition between mixed borders and areas of the garden 

Fountain grass 

which are left uncut until the autumn - ‘garden meadows’ 

if you like - and there is an enormous choice of ornamental 

grasses to choose from; the majority of which are pretty 

easy to grow and which thrive in most soil conditions. 

Some are perfectly happy in dry conditions, always a bit 

of a difficult one for gardeners. These include those with 

a ‘blue’ foliage such as Elymus magellanicus. Meanwhile, 

the sedges and rushes thrive in damp conditions like 

those spotted on the riverside at Kelmscott. The pH of 

the soil isn’t usually a factor in planting grasses and as 

long as those of us who grow on chalk can make sure that 

there is some soil to plant them in they should do fine. 

Most grasses are happiest in sun but some, like the carexes 

and the hakonechloas are more than able to grow well in semi 

shade. There are both deciduous and evergreen grasses and 

the rule of thumb is to cut the deciduous varieties down in 

the spring. The evergreens don’t appreciate being cut hard 

back particularly, although it can be done, if you feel the 

need, during their growing season (between late spring and 

August) and you can thin and tidy them up in the spring too. 

So many grasses have the most gorgeous tints in the 

autumn and fine structure throughout the winter that 

they add hugely to the beauty of a winter garden. Grow 

them too in pots remembering to water regularly during 

the growing season, plus adding dollops of good compost 

and a long-term fertiliser thrown in for good measure. 

A few firm favourites would include: 

Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ or Fountain Grass 

is a deciduous grass and has lovely dark green foliage 

and catkin like flowers which turn gold in the autumn, 

adding to a long period of interest. I saw it recently 

combined with bright white penstemons and a very 

 


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Grasses can provide a simple backdrop for flowers 

Every garden provides a chance 

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May the 

forest be 

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deep blue lavender which was a really pretty combination. 

There is also a rather good emerald green form, Pennisetum 

alopecuroides ‘Viridescens’ which is worth having. 

Miscanthus nepalensis This heavenly plant, native to 

the Himalayas as its name suggests, is a late flowering 

grass which has the most beautiful, silky golden flower 

heads which look completely wonderful in the evening 

light. You’ll need a sheltered, sunny position for it to 

thrive but do grow it if you can. You’ll love it. 

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Malepartus’ I think that one of 

the best things - and there are many – about this grass 

are its autumn tints. The leaves turn in later summer to a 

colour combination of russets and orange and before that 

transformation you have silvery brown flowers that fade 

as the season progresses. It grows to at least two metres 

and definitely needs to be left until the spring before 

being cut down as it is so striking in the winter garden. 

Molinia caerulea arundinacea ‘Transparent’ is a tall form 

of the moor grass which grows so profusely on the Scottish 

hillsides. It starts to flower in mid-June and grows tall, delicate 

and feathery. I really do love seeing this plant which, despite 

reaching heights of up to two metres, is so good in the front 

of borders. You can then see the planting behind it in a sort of 

soft haze. It’s a lovely thing. ‘Windspiel’ is a rather stiffer, more 

upright cultivar which has honey-coloured tones in autumn. 

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120

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McGeachyGardenDesignWT196.indd 1 21/05/2018 10:06

Garden 

-seireSC rotcart nedraghsitirB retteb eht 

• on htiw sarg tew *tcelloc & tuC 

gni golc 

• elxa tnorf tsac a serutaef – tsal ot tliuB 

kced rettuc decrofnier dna 

• seiroseca derewop evirD 

• dna seltten elkcaT 

**selbmarb 

• *nwal a epirtS 

nedrag hsitirBeht rof niatirBni tliuB 

Barley ripening in a quintessentially English landscape 

Garden Perfection 

City Escapes provide domestic & commercial garden solutions 

kced gnihcluM ssarG hgiH** / rotcelloC ssarG derewoP* :lanoitpo seriuqeR 

Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ arrives on the scene in early 

April when its bright yellow leaves appear above the ground, 

, tsruhduoGAP2 and 71NT then progresses on through into autumn. It looks good 

9512 08510 

grown in a pot or interesting container in either a sunny or 

partly shaded spot. Its leaves are brightly variegated in yellow 

ku.oc.gbam @ofni 

and green and all face the same way. The colour tends to change 

depending on position with sun producing a brighter yellow. 

I have it in a clay pot in partial shade and am going 

to experiment by giving it more light. Hakonechloa 

macra is a rather underused plant in comparison to 

the variegated forms (of which ‘Aureola’ is only one) 

of this grass. Its bright green leaves clump up nicely 

and tiny flowers appear in the late summer. 

Grow too our native hair grass, Deschampsia cespitosa, which 

produces mounds of dark green foliage topped with delicate 

long stems and billowing masses of cloud like flowers. ‘Bronze 

Veil’ and ‘Golden Veil’ grown through borders have soft, 

subtle colours which give the appearance of floating through 

and around plants with a more definite outline. These are 

really easy to grow from seed. Chiltern Seeds sell them. 

Finally, grasses can make rather inviting homes to all 

manner of wildlife; to field mice and a huge diversity 

of insects and also provide nesting material for birds so 

all the more reason to add them to your borders, your 

gravel garden and to the wilder areas of your garden. 

mraF , nerG nedI daoR korbnarC 3 tinU 

MABrownSonsLtdWT197.indd 1 12/06/2018 15:23 

dtL snoS & nworB A &M 

Sue Whigham can be contacted on 07810 457948 for 

gardening advice and help in the sourcing and supply of 

interesting garden plants. 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Regular Maintenance 

Design & Construction 

Small one off works 

Turf care management 

Problem area Solutions 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Seasonal Bedding plant displays 

Approved pesticide/ 

herbicides operators 

Habitat Management 

RHS qualified gardeners 

Tel: 01435 868211 | M: 07831 302107 | E: gardensmanager@gmail.com 

www.cityescapes.co.uk 

Help and advice 

For all your gardening needs 

wealdentimes.co.uk/gardens 


CityEscapesWT187.indd 1 16/08/2017 15:53 

122

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email: production@indexmagazine.co.uk 

Below is a proof of your ad to be published Positions in the in the maga 

tel: 01892 517320 

PLEASE NOTE The content of the advertisment it will be taken that this ad 

WEST is KENT the responsibiluty MAY edition of the Index Magazine. positions tel: PLEASE NOTE are agreed 0189 The co 

PLEASEadvertiser NOTE The – content the publisher of the advertisment cannot email: accept production@indexmagazine.co.uk 

is responsibility the responsibiluty for any of inaccuracies. 

the every detail email: 

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pub NO 

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We trust 

except 

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where 

as you 

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124 

ChartStablesWT197.indd 1 18/06/2018 14:11

Garden 

Aster 

Cosmos pink 

Late bloomers 

The roses may be over, but don’t despair, says Jo Arnell, there are 

plenty of plants to bring colour to the borders yet 

It’s easy to think that the garden is on the way out this 

month. The early summer colour has faded and the 

borders could be looking careworn and frazzled. But take 

heart, for it need not be so. There are ways of turning the 

August garden from crestfallen to crescendo, with plenty of 

plants to carry us through the late summer and on into the 

golden autumn days. 

An annual blast 

You can’t beat annuals for long-term reward. This is down 

to their short, but action-packed and free-flowering lives. 

They only have one season in which to grow, flower and 

set their seed, so if you thwart them by continually dead 

heading, they will keep on trucking along, flowering until 

the frosts. Floriferous and reliable annuals include Cosmos, 

Antirrhinums and Zinnias for sun, and for the shadier parts of 

the garden Nicotiana, Impatiens and violas. 

Perennial colour 

We tend to get carried away at the start of the season and 

rush out to fill our trolleys with cottage garden perennials 

and plants that are in bloom at the start of the summer. The 

trouble is that June blooms don’t always last for long. Many 

will have finished flowering by July and can also have quite 

straggly foliage by that time too. 

There is a way to perk up the early flowerers, plants like 

delphiniums, lupins, catmint and geraniums. It’s a bit ruthless, 

but will pay off in the end. You just cut them all back down 

to the ground as soon as they’ve finished flowering at the 

beginning of July - and then by the end of August they will be 

back, with a repeat show of flowers and tidy new leaves. 

So if you have cut back the early arrivals after flowering they 

should reappear for their encore at the same time as the later 

flowering perennials start. So borders in late summer can be 

even more flower-packed than in the earlier months. 

Many of the late bloomers are in the daisy family: 

Rudbeckias, Echinaceas, Asters and Heleniums are at their 

best this month. The range of colours are suitably sultry, 

verging on autumnal; shades of dusky pink, mellow oranges, 

russet and mahogany, with splashes of blue and mauve from 

the asters. Some have long-lasting seed heads too, so once 

the flowers have finished they persist as silhouettes, looking 

sculptural when backlit against grasses in the autumn light. 

The flowers of Sedum spectabile are a magnet for butterflies 

and bees at this time of the year. They are a great addition to 

the front of the border and will provide long-lasting colour 

right through the autumn, as the nectar-packed flowers fade 

into attractive seed heads in shades of russet and bronze. 

Sedums are easy to care for and will put up with many 

situations, but given a choice they’d prefer sunshine and freedraining 

conditions. 

Dahlias are in full swing now, and with any luck will 

provide a sumptuous late summer spectacle until the frosts. 

They are greedy plants and need rich, well drained compost 

and plenty of moisture. Dead head them regularly to keep the 

flowers coming and then, once the frost has cut them back, 

either lift and store the tender tubers somewhere frost-free 

for the winter, or heap up with mulch and leave them to take 

their chances… 

Fabulous Foliage 

Don’t fixate on flowers – foliage can often have as much 

colour as a flower and is a good deal longer lasting, once the 

flowers are gone. Large leaves and architectural foliage will 


Echinops 

Heleniums and grass 

Melianthus 

Buddleia 

also bring structure and unity to the border and help set off 

flowers to good effect. 

Try the exotic looking Melianthus major, with its glaucous, 

serrated leaves (it will be cut down by the frosts as it is slightly 

tender, but perks up again in the spring). Euphorbia ‘Wulfenii’ 

also has glaucous leaves, but these are evergreen and it has the 

added advantage of handsome lime green bracts in spring. 

A useful, if diminutive, group of plants that seem 

to grow in any situation, including tricky dry shade 

are the Heucheras. There is a striking, almost black 

variety called ‘Obsidian’, several cultivars come in 

opulent maroon shades, but there are lighter colours 

too, and for a splash of orange, try H. ‘Marmalade.’ 

Graceful grasses 

Many of the ornamental grasses will be flowering 

around now, sending up shimmering golden, silver or 

russety flower spikes. Some are demure and ‘grassy’, 

others have dramatic plumes or ‘feathers’ of flowers. 

There are tall grasses that will do the job of a shrub in 

the border, bringing instant height and presence, but in 

a more graceful and airy way than a shrub. Miscanthus 

zebrinus, or M. ‘Silberfeder’ are good ‘shrub substitute’ 

grasses. Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ makes a tall golden 

pillar and will bring rhythm and punctuation to a scheme, 

while the low growing evergreen Stipa tenuissima is an airy 

and irresistibly tactile little grass for the front of the border. 

Structure from shrubs 

Shrubs provide height, presence and act as the backbone of 

the border and there are some great late summer flowering 

shrubs that have their starring moment right now. Hydrangeas 

have long-lasting bracts that fade beautifully into autumnal 

shades (and also make great cut flowers), Hibiscus will 

provide an exotic boost in shades of pink, blue or white, 

and the Buddleias will bring in butterflies and bees. 

Smaller shrubs like Caryopteris, with its sky blue 

flowers (there is one called ‘Heavenly Blue’) are useful 

in the middle of the border, and the low growing 

Ceratostigma willmottianum, with its cerulean blue 

flowers will also have brilliant autumn foliage. 

Container ideas 

If your summer pots are starting to look a bit careworn and 

straggly, or you want to give the garden an instant colour 

boost or focal point, plant up a sumptuous late summer 

container. There’s a great range of late summer/early 

autumn bedding plants around now, and you can also use 

perennials like Heuchera, Dahlias, Crocosmia, grasses such 

as Panicum or Pennisetum to bring a vibrant splash of colour 

and long-lasting interest on paved areas near the house. 

The summer show is definitely not over yet, in fact 

it could just getting going again. With a bit of luck 

and a few extra plants, the garden borders can party 

on until the frosts come. Let’s get out there. 

Contact Jo for gardening courses 

and garden advice: 01233 861149 

jo@hornbrookmanor.co.uk 


126

GardenproudWT198.indd 1 10/07/2018 15:46 

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128 

HawkhurstFishFarmWT196.indd 1 23/05/2018 15:38

Surviving results season 

Less than brilliant grades aren’t always a disaster, says Hilary Wilce, with the right support, 

there’s as much to learn from failure as there is from success 

It’s August, exam results season, and for many young people 

a time of celebration and optimism. They are setting out on 

the next step of life with their heads held high. But for others, 

things might not be looking so rosy. Their results may have been a 

terrible disappointment. They may have failed to get into the sixth 

form or college of their choice, or into their chosen university. 

When this happens, it can feel very bitter, but in fact there is 

an awful lot to be said for failure. Indeed, the 

“Talk about your 

own mistakes 

and what 

you’ve learned 

from them” 

outcome of failure often turns out to be success. 

The schoolchild who ‘fails’ to get into their 

first choice primary school, or doesn’t pass the 

eleven-plus, may well find themselves happier 

and doing better at their alternative school. And 

a clearing-place university might turn out to 

be exactly the right one for a student to shine. 

Failure also teaches lots of useful lessons. As 

human beings we fail all the time – at work 

and at home – but if we are smart we can learn from that failure. 

We can figure out how to do things a different way, discover 

that we’re capable of working harder, get to know ourselves 

better and change the behaviours that are getting in our way. 

That’s why good teachers positively welcome failure into 

their classrooms and tell pupils that mistakes are essential to 

good learning. They set high standards, but give students 

the support, encouragement and non-judgmental feedback 

they need to grow into doing as well as they can. 

As parents, though, our instincts can be different. We 

want to protect our children from failure because we know 

how much the shame and pain of it can sting. But if we try 

too hard to protect our children from all failure, they will 

subliminally soak up our anxieties and become too scared to try 

new things, or to come home with less than perfect results. 

They will absorb the message that they must do everything 

right, the first time they try it, and grow either timid and 

perfectionist, or else rebel and act up because they know 

they’ll never reach the high standards expected. 

Parents who constantly push and bribe their children 

for high grades, who bellow and admonish 

their children on the touch lines of school 

pitches, are always demanding of schools why 

their children aren’t doing better… are people 

who are, deep down, terrified of failure. 

Instead of falling into these patterns, make 

friends with failure and help your children to think 

of it as a normal part of life. Encourage them to 

look it in the face and see it as something that will 

help them to learn better and grow stronger. 

Talk about your own mistakes and what you’ve learned 

from them. Avoid comparisons with higher-achieving 

pupils, or talking about success and failure in black and 

white terms. Instead encourage your child to see that their 

brain is pliable and plastic, quite capable of stretching 

itself round new things and rising to challenges. 

Tell them that top athletes know that mental attitudes 

matter just as much as sporting prowess and that’s why 

they work as much on developing grit, determination 

and resilience as on developing their physical abilities. 

Because at the end of the day, that’s where the roots of 

success and failure always lie – in how each one of us decides 

to look at life and meet the challenges it flings at us. 


1066 REASONS 

TO VISIT 

Stand shoulder to shoulder with the past 

at England’s most iconic battlefield. 

High Street, Battle, East Sussex TN33 0AD 

15 minutes from Hastings by rail 

The English Heritage Trust is a charity, no. 1140351, and a company, no. 07447221, registered in England.

What’s On in August 

Art 

Until Sun 9 Sep 

Woods Restaurant and Bars, 62 

& 64 The Pantiles, Tunbridge 

Wells, Kent TN2 5TN 

Remarkable 

A collaboration between 

photographer Mark Wilkinson 

and writer Anne Wagstaff 

recording forty remarkable 

Tunbridge Wells characters, many 

of whom are donating prizes to 

the accompanying Remarkable 

Raffle. Proceeds from the project 

will be donated to local charity 

Fegans which provides children’s 

counselling and parent support 

services in the South East. 

Entry: Free (voluntary donations 

to local charity Fegans welcome) 

Info: remarkablecharacterstw.com 

Sat 7 Jul – Sun 2 Sep 

Maidstone Museum, St. Faith’s 

Street, Maidstone, Kent 

ME14 1LH 

Paul Kidby: Discworld 

& Beyond 

An exhibition showcasing Paul 

Kidby’s wonderful book covers 

and illustrations for Terry 

Pratchett’s novels. It also reveals 

Paul’s own projects, influenced by 

British folklore and landscapes. 

Entry: Adults £4, children £2, 

families £10 

Info: 01622 602838 / 

museum.maidstone.gov.uk 

Sat 21 Jul – Sun 12 Aug 

Godinton House & Gardens, 

Godinton Lane, Ashford, 

Kent TN23 3BP 

Sculpture in 

the Garden 

For three weeks a year, Godinton 

House and Gardens become 

a gallery displaying work for 

every bit of the garden from 18 

artists. You can explore the trail 

every day from 1pm whether 

you are looking to purchase 

or just have a nice day out. 

Info: godintonhouse.co.uk 

Sun 5 – Mon 13 Aug 

10am-4.30pm 

Sussex House, 61 Lower Pantiles, 

Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 5TE 

Eclectic Art arrives 

on the Pantiles 

Local artists Suzy Phillips 

and Carol Anne Slater are 

showing their latest collection 

of contemporary paintings. The 

exhibition draws upon poetry to 

demonstrate the value of the poet/ 

painter collaboration. Words 

leave a lingering image and many 

of the chosen poems matched to 

their paintings, achieve just this. 

The artists wish to encourage 

people from far and wide to 

visit where they will also have an 

opportunity to meet the artists. 

Entry: Free 

Info: carolanneslaterart.co.uk 

Children & Families 

Sat 25 - Mon 27 Aug 

St George’s Church, Brede Hill, 

Brede, Rye TN31 6EJ 

Brede Flower Festival 

Weekend 

Visit Brede’s ancient church 

with its beautiful views over 

the Brede Valley for a fantastic 

flower festival themed around 

events that happened 100 years 

ago. There will be 35 themed 

displays, each depicting a different 

event, plus refreshments, stalls, 

trips up the tower, a raffle, live 

music and an art exhibition. 

Info: bredeflowerfestival.org.uk 

Fri 6 Jul – Thu 16 Sep 

Chatham Dockyard, Main Gate 

Road, Chatham ME4 4UY 

Brick History 

History comes to life in this 

interactive exhibition that takes 

visitors through all the pivotal 

moments in history modelled in 

LEGO® bricks. 

Entry: Included in entry tickets to 

The Dockyard 

Info: 1634 823800 / 

thedockyard.co.uk 

Sat 14 Jul – Sun 2 Sep 

11am-6pm 

Penshurst Place, Penshurst, 

Tonbridge, Kent TN11 8DG 

Maize Maze 

This amazing maize maze returns 

with some new twists and turns 

this year. Plus while you’re at 

Penshurst, there will be bushcraft 

workshops, a woodland trail 

and falconry displays over the 

bank holiday from Sunday 26 to 

Monday 27 August. 

Info: penshurstplace.com 

Sat 14 Jul – Mon 27 Aug 

Hever Castle, Hever Road, 

Hever, Edenbridge TN8 7NG 

Summer Jousting 

For those who couldn’t make it to 

the World Cup, try this medieval 

alternative - a jousting tournament 

right out of a costume drama 

starring Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn 

and a host of valiant knights, and 

set in an authentic jousting arena 

complete with royal box. 

Info: 01732 865224 / 

hevercastle.co.uk 

Wed 25 Jul – Sun 2 Sep 

Hop Farm, Maidstone Road, 

Paddock Wood, Tonbridge, Kent 

TN12 6PY 

Summer Fun at the Farm 

Keep children entertained over 

the summer holidays with giant 

jumping pillows, children’s TV 

and film characters, animal farm, 

bumper cars, zorbs, 4D cinema, 

bungees, bouncy castles and birds 

of prey displays. 

Info: 01622 872068 / 

thehopfarm.co.uk 

Tue 31 Jul – Sat 18 Aug 

Various locations on Thanet 

Coast 

Summer Seashore 

Safaris 

Take a couple of hours to explore 

Thanet’s rocky shore to discover 

the fascinating rockpool wildlife 

hiding there. These safaris will 

be travelling along the coast 

throughout the month so check 

online to find out where to meet! 

Entry: Suggested £1 donation 

Info: nekmpa.org.uk 

Fri 31 Aug 7.30pm-9.15pm 

Knole, Sevenoaks, Kent 

TN15 0RP 

Bats at dusk 

Meet Knole’s resident bat 

population on this guided walk 

at dusk with an expert ecologist. 

Bat detectors will be provided but 

you should bring your own torch. 

After the walk there will be time 

for questions over a hot chocolate 

in the Visitor Centre. Children 

aged 5 and over are welcome. 

Booking essential. 

Entry: £10 per person. 

Info: nationaltrust.org.uk/knole 

Festivals & Shows 

Sat 11 & Sun 12 Aug 

10am-5pm 

Dover Castle, Castle Hill Road, 

Dover CT16 1HU 

Tudor Pageant 

Party like its 1544! Dover Castle 

is taking a trip back in time to 

King Henry VIII’s preparations 

to invade France. Celebrate 

with the King as a colourful 

parade showcases the strength 

of the English army. The Tudor 

encampment will have fools and 

musicians, monk monopoly and 

junior jousting as well as the 

chance to try coin striking and 

learn about Tudor food. 

Info: english-heritage.org.uk 

Fri 24 – Mon 27 Aug 

Various locations in Sandwich, 

Kent 

Sandwich Festival 

The streets of Sandwich are 

going to be filled with music, 

dancing and life over this weekend 

festival with outdoor concerts, a 

food fayre, barn dancing in the 

street, classic cars and a fantastic 

illuminated boat parade. 

Entry: Free 

Info: sandwichevents.org.uk 

Food & DRink 

Sat 25 & Sun 26 Aug 

Brogdale Collections, Brogdale 

Farm, Brogdale Road, Faversham 

ME13 8XZ 

Brogdale Cider 

Festival 

Local craft ciders and live music 

for a full weekend! Expect 

entertainment for the whole 

family with a little festival goers 

area, yummy street food, fun 

festival games, and local shopping. 

Info: 0 1795 536250 / 

brogdalecollections.org 


SG12 events card DL 03e DATE CHANGE_Layout 1 10/02/2012 10:20 Page 2 

DESIGNER MAKERS 

OF CONTEMPORARY AND 

TRADITIONAL CRAFTS 

DESIGNER MAKERS 

OF CONTEMPORARY AND 

TRADITIONAL CRAFTS 

EVENTS Contemporary 2012 

CRAFT 

SHOWS 

CONTEMPORARY 

CRAFT SHOWS 

THROUGHOUT SUSSEX 

3 - 5 August 

MICHELHAM PRIORY 

with craft demonstrations 

Upper Dicker, Hailsham, East 

Sussex BN27 3QS 

www.sussexpast.co.uk 

Registered Charity No. 239992. Company No. 633098 

Registered Charity No. 239992. Company No. 633098 

Image © Amanda Hedges 

The Sussex Guild 

Shop and Gallery 

The North Wing 

Southover Grange 

Southover Road 

Lewes, East Sussex 

BN7 1TP 

Shop open 7 days a 

STEP INTO NINE 

week, 10.00 - 5.00 

except Christmas Day 

Reg. Charity no: 292234 

CENTURIES OF HISTORY 

www.thesussexguild.co.uk 

01273 479565 

25 - 27 August 

PASHLEY 

MANOR GARDENS 

Ticehurst, Near Wadhurst, 

East Sussex TN5 7HE 

www.pashleymanorgardens.com 


01273 479565 

Reg. Charity no : 292234 

KentWildlifeTrustWT197.indd 1 06/06/2018 SussexGuildWT198.indd 09:47 

1 12/07/2018 10:15 


A summer filled with adventure, music 

and drama as well as our wonderful daily 

attractions means there’s always a great 

reason to visit. 

EXPERIENCE MORE 

leeds-castle.com 


132 

28702 J1 LC Summer adv WT 130x185.indd 1 09/07/2018 09:32 

ZestLtdLeedsCastleWT198.indd 1 09/07/2018 16:06

Wealden Times Ad 2018.qxp_Layout 1 22/06/2018 16:54 Page 1 

Steam through the Ages 

Travel through 100 years of 

history in one day! 

Plenty to do and see at three 

stations including 

Live music from the Victorian 

Era. 

WW2 themed activities, 

music and displays including a 

static Spitfire Display and 

‘Homefront Bus’ 

Donkey rides and ‘seaside’ 

activities. 

RSA 

RYE SOCIETY OF ARTISTS 

RYE SOCIETY OF ARTISTS 

SUMMER EXHIBITION 2018 

Steam through the Ages 

11th - 12th August 2018 

Buy your tickets online in advance 

at www.bluebell-railway.com 

Advance tickets available online at www.bluebell-railway.com 

01825 720800 info@bluebell-railway.co.uk 

The Bluebell Railway | Sheffield Park Station | East Sussex TN22 3QL 

4–26 August 2018 

The Dance Hall, Community Centre 

Conduit Hill, Rye TN31 7LE 

Open daily 10.30am to 5.30pm 

Te 

l: 07501 82830 

www.ryesocietyofartists.co.uk 

Supported by the Rye Community Shop 

Cliff Howe Dis 

ta 

nt Down 

s 

BluebellRailwayWT198.indd 1 11/07/2018 RyeSocietyofArtistsWT198.indd 16:28 

1 28/06/2018 15:11 

Paul Young: 35 Years of No Parlez Tour 

The Greatest Show: Live in Concert 

Saturday 29 September 7.30pm 

Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage 

Friday 12 October 4.30pm & 7.30pm 

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain: With Bells On 

Tuesday 23 - Saturday 27 October 

Thursday 15 November 7.30pm 

NEW AUTUMN HIGHLIGHTS Book online: 

whiterocktheatre.org.uk 

Ticket Office: 01424 462288 

White Rock, Hastings TN34 1JX 

WhiteRockTheatre 

@The_White_Rock 

@white_rock_theatre 


WhiteRockTheatreWT198.indd 1 03/07/2018 14:54

PAINT YOUR OWN CERAMICS, 

CRAFTS & PERSONALISED GIFTS 

Visit in August to see 

hundreds of lilies, the 

abundant kitchen garden 

and the herbaceous 

borders looking fantastic 

Sussex Guild Craft Show 

25, 26 & 27 August 

Beautiful 11 Acre Gardens; Café with Terrace; Gift 

Shop; Sculpture Exhibition; open until 29th Sept. 

Ticehurst 01580 200888 

pashleymanorgardens.com 

Keepsakes 

Come in and have a go! 

No appointment necessary 

Paint your own 

Decopatch 

Located on Hawkhurst Fish Farm 

www.slapndash.com 01580 755674 

Open times: Mon-Fri 10.00 to 5.00, Sat & Sun 10.00 to 4.00 

(Evenings by appointment) 

Disabled access • Ample Parking • Cafe on-site 

PashleyManorWT198.indd 1 09/07/2018 SlapNDashWT172.indd SlapNDashWT198.indd 15:06 

1 24/05/2016 18/07/2018 11:01 10:11 

#nationaltrust 

Open-air theatre at Smallhythe 

Place 

Enjoy an evening of entertainment with 

friends and family this August. Pack your 

picnics, rugs and hampers and relax in the 

tranquil summer gardens of Smallhythe 

Place for open-air performances of 'Peter 

Pan' on Sunday 5th and 'As You Like It' on 

Monday 27th. 

Call 01580 762334 for details 

nationaltrust.org.uk/smallhythe-place 

© National Trust 2018. The National Trust is an independent 

registered charity, number 205846. Photography © National Trust 

Images\Rosie Gaston. 

WWW.THE-OBSERVATORY.ORG 

31 st August - 2 nd September 2018 

Now in its 14 th year... 

Soak up the incredible atmosphere whether just for a day 

or the whole weekend. Camping pitches are available. 

Programme includes talks, planetarium shows, family 

activities, Astro Radio and much more! 

Confirmed speakers... 

Jane Green FRAS 

(Author, broadcaster & registered school’s speaker) 

Dr Stephen Wilkins (University of Sussex) 

Christopher Jacobs (Deep Space Navigation 

Engineer, NASA/JPL) 

Pete Williamson FRAS 

(Astronomer and Broadcaster) 

Dr Amelie Saintonge (UCL) 


134 

SmallhythePlaceWT198.indd 1 23/07/2018 ObservatoryScienceCentreWT198.indd 14:52 

1 20/07/2018 11:14

What’s On in August 

Sat 25 – Mon 27 Aug 

Mote Park, Mote Avenue, 

Maidstone, Kent ME15 7SU 

Shemomedjamo 

A multicultural food festival 

named after the Georgian phrase 

for the feeling of being full but 

unable to stop eating because the 

food tastes too good. Visit this 

global village of food and you can 

take in music, dance and art from 

the cultures of the world too. 

Entry: Free 

Info: visitmaidstone.com 

Mon 27 Aug 

Kent Life, Lock Lane, Sandling, 

Maidstone, Kent ME14 3AU 

Ice Cream Festival 

Candy floss, popcorn, snow cones, 

chocolatiers and over 20 flavours 

of ice cream - what’s not to love? 

Kent Life will also have animal 

activities, face painting and a 

‘Dairy Stage’ with live music for 

all to enjoy. 

Info: kentlife.org.uk 

THEATRE 

Fri 6 Jul – Fri 31 Aug 

Scotney Castle, Lamberhurst, 

Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN3 8JN 

Outdoor Theatre 

Over August Scotney Castle 

encourages us all to get outside 

and enjoy a bit of culture with 

a series of outdoor theatre 

performances set with the 

beautiful Mansion house as a 

one-of-a-kind backdrop. Enjoy 

such titles as The Reluctant Dragon 

and The Tempest (which will be 

performed by the UK’s premier 

all male company, The Lord 

Chamberlain’s Men). 

Info: nationaltrust.org.uk/ 

scotney-castle 

Thurs 9 – Sun 12 Aug 

Kent Event Centre, Detling, 

Kent ME14 3JE 

Spirit of the Horse 

Europe’s greatest equestrian 

theatre show’s new production, 

Renaissance, stars over 20 

magnificent horses from six 

countries and is full of drama, 

humour and poetry with stunt 

riding, Spanish dancing horse 

and the fabled Pegasus, a fabulous 

winged horse. 

Info: spiritofthehorseshow.com 

Fri 10 Aug 

Smallhythe Place, Smallhythe, 

Tenterden, Kent, TN30 7NG 

The Importance of 

Being Earnest 

A fast-paced, one-act adaption 

of Oscar Wilde’s beloved “Trivial 

Comedy for Serious People”. 

Info: nationaltrust.org.uk/ 

smallhythe-place 

WORKSHOPS 

Wednesdays and Sundays 

throughout August excluding 

Wed 29 Aug 

Canterbury Baking School, 22, 

The Ness, Canterbury CT1 3NL 

Baking School 

Canterbury Baking School offers 

a multitude of classes which teach 

life-long skills including basic 

bread techniques, and making 

artisan bread, sourdough, pasta or 

pizza! In the heart of Canterbury, 

these personal, specialist workshops 

are taught by bread expert, Vicky, 

who was trained by an Italian 

master chef! 

Entry: £165pp, £10 off for Wealden 

Times readers, quote ‘Wealden10’ 

Info: canterburybakingschool.com 

/ vicky@canterburybakingschool.com 

Listings are correct at time of going 

to press but may be subject to change. 

Readers are advised to check with 

venues before making arrangements. 

We can list your event in the next issue 

of Wealden Times for only £15+VAT! 

Please supply up to 50 words that 

should include date, time, venue, 

and any entry price to whatson@ 

wealdentimes.co.uk or send with 

payment (cheques payable to JPS 

Media) to What’s On, Wealden Times, 

Kettle Chambers, 21 Stone Street, 

Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3HF. Wealden 

Times reserves the right to edit text to 

fit space allocated. If you would like 

your event listing to be accompanied 

by a full colour reproduction (42.5 

x 62.5mm) of a poster or other 

pictorial image, the total charge 

will be £95+VAT. Deadline for the 

September issue is 8 August 2018. 

GodintonHouseWT198.indd 1 19/07/2018 09:52 


HeverCastleWT198.indd 1 16/07/2018 15:06

Clare Langdon 

INTERIORS 

Made to measure 

curtains & blinds 

Tracks & poles 

Measuring & fitting service 

Home consultation 

Fabrics & design advice 

Telephone 01580 712209 

clarelangdoninteriors.co.uk 

W E 

H AV E 

MOV ED 

Battle Mowers Ltd 

Main dealer for 

THE ESSENCE OF FINE 

BRITISH LAWNS 

For further information please phone 01424 773096 

or-email: battlemowers@btconnect.com www.battlemowers.co.uk 

Showroom: 15-19 Vinehall Business Park, Vinehall Road, Mountfield TN32 5JW 

VACANCY - 

HAIRDRESSER 

ClareLangdonWT195.indd 1 04/04/2018 BattleMowersWT198.indd 12:18 

1 02/07/2018 11:34 

Are you experienced 

(ideally 5 years) in all 

aspects of styling, cutting 

and colouring, available 

to work 3 days per week, 

including Fri & Sat? 

01424 465333 

halcyonhairdressing.co.uk 

halcyonstleonards@gmail.com 

72 Norman Road, 

St. Leonards TN38 0EJ 

IAN THOMAS 

Bespoke Joinery & Carpentry 

Interior woodwork & refurbishment 

Staplecross • 01580 830590 

www.ianthomasbespokejoinery.com 

Creating gardens 

of distinction 

HalcyonHairdressingWT198.indd 1 11/07/2018 IanThomasJoineryWT198.indd 12:32 

1 17/07/2018 11:45 

Blackland Farm 

Outdoor Activity Centre 

Probably the most experienced, established 

& qualified contractor in the area 

Geoff Tiltman 

City & Guilds in Horticulture N.C.T 

FREE QUOTATIONS, CALL 

SMARDEN 01233 770777 or 07775 694963 

All Garden Construction & 

Maintenance • Drives 

Paving • Walling • Fencing 

Untidy Gardens Made Tidy 

Kayaking 

Canoeing 

Bungee trampolining 

Rock climbing 

Archery 

Crate challenge 

Zip wire 

Abseiling 

Aeroball... 

...and many more! 

GeoffTiltmanWT171.indd 1 25/07/2018 19:02 

The complete kitchen service... 

...from a hinge to a complete makeover 

The supply & replacement of 

drawers, doors, worktops, 

hinges, all fitted kitchen 

components/appliances, door 

renovation & polishing, bedroom 

doors & bespoke cabinets. 

Please call 

01689 850000 

www.thekitchendoctor.com 

Serving London & the South-East since 1984 

A pet portrait makes a wonderful gift 

Professional Oil Paintings & Drawings 

Visit www.dianewilks.weebly.com or 

Email for examples: wdiane93@aol.com 

Diane 01580 212327 

Come and join us for 

fun-filled activity days. 

Why not have your 

birthday party here too? 

Blackland Farm 

01342 810493 

blackland@girlguiding.org.uk 

www.blacklandfarm.org.uk 


136 

KitchenDoctorWT145.indd 1 28/01/2014 DianeWilksWT158.indd 10:12 

1 03/03/2015 BlacklandFarmWT138.indd 12:30 

1 10/07/2013 17:31

Competition 

Win A £500 luxury spa break 

for two at Eastwell Manor, 

champneys hotel & spa 

Eastwell Manor is a magnificent hotel within a 

historic grand house in beautiful landscaped 

gardens in Kent, with a Champneys spa. The 

winner and their guest will enjoy a one-night stay in 

a luxe room in the main Manor house, with dinner, 

breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and a 50-minute spa 

treatment each. 

The Champneys spa offers a wide range of health 

and beauty treatments, indoor and outdoor 

20-metre heated swimming pools, jacuzzi, steam 

room, sauna, and relaxation beds. 

Winners will also have use of all the leisure 

facilities at Eastwell Manor, during their stay, 

which include a 3000 square foot gym, designated 

footpaths, all-weather tennis court, petanque court, 

croquet lawn and nine-hole golf course. 

Eastwell Manor prides itself on an outstanding 

range of dining options, celebrating British heritage 

with an international influence. In addition to the 

spa, leisure and eating amenities, they offer wedding 

day packages, celebratory events and the hire 

of meeting and conference rooms. 

Eastwell Manor, Eastwell Court, 

Ashford TN25 4HR eastwellmanor.co.uk 

How to enter: 

For your chance to win a 

£500 spa break at Eastwell 

Manor, Champneys Hotel 

& Spa just answer the 

following question: What 

kind of room will the 

winners stay in? Enter your 

answer with your contact 

details* in the online 

form at wealdentimes. 

co.uk/competition by 31 

August 2018. The prize is 

a one-night spa break for 

two people with dinner, 

breakfast, lunch, afternoon 

tea and a 50-minute 

treatment for each guest. 

There is no cash alternative 

and the prize must be 

taken before 31 August 

2019. *You must be over 

the age of 18 to enter. 

Congratulations to Margaret Lipsham who wins our June competition 

for £400 of luxury bedding from King of Cotton 

137

Jane Howard’s 

Fables from 

the Farm 

Why cows win the farm animal popularity 

contest – and sheep most definitely do not 

Among those of us old enough to remember, Coopers 

Farm has often been likened to an i-spy Book of The 

Farm. These tiny pocket books were the pre-digital 

way of keeping children entertained. Each one was dedicated 

to a different topic like The Seaside, Birds, Cars or even 

Motorways (a novelty way back then), each page illustrated 

with objects you had to look out for and then tick off. 

Once completed, and I never knew anyone who ever did, 

you could send them back to the publisher – Big Chief I 

Spy - and look forward to receiving a magnificent prize such 

as a pencil or a badge. Those were the days! 

Fact is over the past 20 years we have managed to collect, 

or at some point tried our hand at, most of the farm animals 

that would have featured in one of these books – cows, pigs, 

sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl – and many of 

them are still here. Though some are most definitely not. 

The goats were the worst, escaping, eating the roses, 

making a racket and generally getting in the way. They only 

lasted a few weeks but sheep come a close second in my 

“more effort than their worth” opinion, but 

it’s OK because they’re Adrian’s sheep and my 

cows, so it’s not my problem. 

When we first came to Coopers we had 

almost no farm knowledge, Adrian decided to 

sign up for an NVQ in agriculture at Hadlow 

College. While there he was taken under the 

wing of a very experienced shepherd who 

turned up at the farm one day with five ewes 

and a ram having rightly decided that being taught in a 

classroom is only half the job, getting stuck in is far more 

important. The die was cast, the flock was installed so, as 

you do, I went and bought six cows. 

“Sheep shearing 

can be a very 

competitive 

business” 

But here’s the thing. Once the cows are turned out in the 

fields in the spring, apart from checking on them every day 

it’s a pretty carefree summer. The shepherd’s work however 

is never quite done. 

As someone famously said there are two things sheep like 

doing, one is escaping and one is dying and if they can die 

escaping then that is true happiness. 

All summer they have to be regularly wormed, have jabs 

to stop diseases, their feet trimmed and be 

sprayed with noxious chemicals to prevent fly 

strike, a ghastly Hammer House of Horror 

condition where bluebottle flies lay their eggs 

in the wool and if undetected the maggots 

burrow into the sheep’s skin and literally 

devour the poor animal. 

This is less of a problem once they’ve been 

shorn but that too is a major undertaking – 

and, rather like a hot dog eating competition, can be a very 

competitive business. 

Matt Smith, a farmer from Cornwall can shear a sheep in 

44 seconds and recently broke a world record by shearing 

731 ewes in nine hours! 

In his heyday, Adrian could manage about 15 sheep a 

week, not quite a match for Matt who by my calculations 

would whizz through our 80 in under an hour, but these 

days we employ the services of the much younger James. 

But it still takes the two of them all day to get them in, 

shear them, swap the combs and cutters, make endless cups 

of tea and ‘wind’ the fleeces into big wool sacks. 

Over in the cattle department I will spend my summer 

wandering gently through the meadows watching my brown 

cows just grow sleeker and glossier. 

I rest my case. 

Follow Jane Howard – and the farm – on Instagram @coopersfarm 


138

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Call 0203 319 2685 

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Wealden Times | WT198 | August 2018 | Wedding supplement inside

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