Marlborough Living Jan - Feb 2020

Contents 

A Note 

from the editor 

A Culinary meat-free Journey recipes throughthat 

Northern 37Fantastic still comfort Ireland 

cosset 

BBC Producer of Planet 

Earth II Mike Gunton 

In this issue... 

04 What’s On 

We find the best events this winter 

- with lots of fun to blow away the 

January gloom 

12 Wedded Bliss 

32 

Our winter wedding guide, featuring 

some of the best local venues and 

suppliers 

20 Live Well 

If you’re looking to retune your health 

this year, we have some excellent tips 

to get you started 

35 Michael Caines 

We interview the Michelin star chef 

from Devon on his passion for motor 

racing and his charitable work 

37 Veg Out 

Four fabulous recipes if you’re 

attempting Veganuary this year or are 

just looking to reduce meat intake 

48 Homebuying Guide 

If the New Year heralds a big house 

move, we bring together tips to make 

the process easier 

35 

Michael 

Caines 

32 

Country House 

Interiors 

Editor Katie Thomson 

e katie.thomson@minervapublications.co.uk 

Publisher Sally Thomson 

Pre-Press Manager Kate O’Connell 

Contributors Rebecca Williams, Peter Thomson, Sue Cooke, Matthew Biggs 

Angela Cave, Lucy Saunders and Pete Lawrence. 

Key Account Manager Angela Cave 

e angela.cave@minervapublications.co.uk 

d/l 01225 308092 

twitter: @MarlboroughLive 

Here we are in a new decade. 2020, with all its 

numerical symmetry, has both the promise of 

a new year and a new epoch. It goes without 

saying that this is a time for reflection, both 

inward and outward - what shape would we like 

our lives to have taken come January 2021? 

My goals would usually be overly simplistic and 

a little nebulous - lose a few pounds, drive less, 

learn a language; I’m almost doomed to failure 

by the lack of framework in the first instance. 

This year, I’m trying the opposite approach - 

detailing exactly how I will do something and 

here it is, printed - I can’t look back now. 

1. Walk, Run or Cycle 5km a day, for the 

whole of 2020. This sounds bonkers, but 

we all need to move more and even the 

most fitness-phobic person can walk 5km 

in a day...well, I’ll update you in March with 

my progress. 

2. Consume Less - I’m not talking just about 

food. I’ll be limiting myself to one new 

piece of clothing a month (the rest will 

come from resale sites and charity shops). 

I’m going to get store-cupboard staples 

from zero waste shops and I’ve swapped 

my cleaning products for natural ones. 

This was in part inspired by our amazing 

interview this issue with Mike Gunton of the 

BBC’s Natural History Unit - his passion for 

environmentalism is infectious. 

3. Live Well - ok, this does sound like I’m 

straying into generalities but a quote I heard 

really hit home: ‘everything you eat will either 

prevent disease or fuel it’. We only get one 

body, so I’m going to treat mine with more 

respect by getting the nutrients I need - you 

can read more on that in our health guide. 

I’d love to hear your resolutions for the New 

Year - please do email them to me and add to 

the inspirational pot. In the meantime, you can 

get a flavour of everything else in this issue by 

looking left. Whatever your resolutions or goals, 

I hope 2020 is a fantastic year for you. 

Katie 

MINERVA PUBLICATIONS 

County Gate, County Way 

Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 7FJ 

t 01225 308 128 

w www.minervapublications.co.uk 

visit our website www.marlboroughliving.co.uk 

Disclaimer: The publishers shall not be held liable for any loss occasioned by failure of an 

advertisement to appear, or any damage or inconvenience caused by errors, omissions and 

misprints. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission from the 

publishers. The opinions expressed within are not necessarily those of the publishers. 

www.marlboroughliving.co.uk | 3

Welcome to our first what’s on guide of 2020! 

Here is a taster of what’s happening locally. 

From tribute bands, beautiful gardens to visit, shows for the children, there 

is something to keep everyone entertained during the winter months... 

Bath Bachfest 2020 

4 Beau Street, Bath BA1 1QY 

01225 463362 

www.bathbachfest.org.uk 

Thursday 20 - Saturday 22 February 

Three days of outstanding music-making 

of the highest quality to take place against 

Bath’s beautiful backdrop. 

Devizes Corn Exchange 

The Market Place, Devizes SN10 1HS 

01380 722160 

www.facebook.com/cornexchangedevizes/ 

Friday 3 January 

The Story of a Nutcracker 

Think of the famous Nutcracker ballet by 

Tchaikovsky... Now turn it on its head and 

engage your wildest imagination... Add 6 

amazing classical musician/actors, plenty 

of interaction and a roller-skating Sugar 

Plum Fairy and you might be beginning to 

scratch the surface... 

Lacock Abbey 

Lacock, Chippenham SN15 2LG 

01249 730459 

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lacock-abbey-foxtalbot-museum-and-village 

Saturday 18 January, 10am - 12 noon 

Volunteer Recruitment Day 

This volunteer recruitment day is a great 

opportunity for you to find out more about 

volunteering at Lacock, and hopefully 

decide you’d like to join their team. 

Marlborough College 

Bath Road, Marlborough SN8 1PA 

01672 892566 

www.marlboroughconcertseries.org 

Sunday 19 January, 3pm 

Martin Roscoe (piano) 

Programme to include: Fantasy in D minor 

K 397 - Mozart. Two Impromptus D 899 

Nos 3 & 4 -Schubert. Polonaise in A flat Op 

53 - Chopin. 

Sunday 8 March, 3pm 

Southbank Sinfonia 

Musical Director Simon Over. 

Programme to include: Symphony No 6 in 

F major, Op 68 ‘Pastoral’ - Beethoven 

4 | www.marlboroughliving.co.uk 

Salisbury Arts Centre 

Bedwin Street, Salisbury SP1 3UT 

01722 321744 

www.wiltshirecreative.co.uk 

Saturday 11 January 

The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD - 

Berg’s Wozzeck 

South African artist William Kentridge 

focuses his extraordinary visual imagination 

on Berg’s operatic masterpiece, set in an 

apocalyptic preWorld War I environment. 

Met Music Director Yannick Nzet-Sguin is 

on the podium,with baritone Peter Mattei 

making his highly anticipated role debut as 

the title character. 

Saturday 1 February 

The MetropolitanOpera Live in HD - 

Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess 

One of America’s favorite operas returns to 

the Met for the first time in nearly 30 years. 

James Robinson’s stylish production 

transports audiences to Catfish Row on 

the Charleston waterfront, vibrant with the 

music, dancing, emotion, and heartbreak of 

its inhabitants. 

Stourhead House and 

Gardens 

Stourton, Warminster BA12 6QF 

01747 841152 

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead 

Wednesday 1 January, 11am - 1pm 

New Year’s Day Walk 

Join Kim, the Head Ranger and Alan, 

the Garden & Estate Manager for a walk 

through the ancient woods and parkland. 

Discover how they look after this historic 

estate. 

Swindon Arts Centre 

Devizes Road, Old Town, Swindon SN1 

4BJ01793524481 

www.swindontheatres.co.uk 

Sunday 12 January 

Ma Bessie And Her Blues Troupe 

“There are not many singers around with 

Bessie’s style and certainly few in this 

country. An exception is the larger than life 

and hugely talented Julia Titus” - 

Michael Eagleton, Marlow Jazz Club 

Sunday 2 February 

The Navy Lark 

Coming live to the theatre for the first time 

in over 60 years is The Navy Lark. 

The Navy Lark sees a cast of three bring 

to life three classic episodes from the 

much loved radio series which ran for 

1959 - 1977 which originally featured Leslie 

Phillips, Ronnie Barker, Jon Pertwee and 

Dennis Price. 

Thursday 6 February 

Moby Dick 

To celebrate the bicentennial of Herman 

Melville’s birth, his classic tale of one man’s 

obsessive hunt for the great white whale 

is brought to the stage in a stunning solo 

performance so real that you’ll swear that 

you can taste the salt on your lips. 

Thursday 27 February 

Matt Richardson - Imposter 

Following an acclaimed season at the 

Edinburgh Festival, the multi awardwinning 

comedian takes to the road with 

a brand-new nationwide tour. Fresh from 

appearances on ITV2’s The Stand Up 

Sketch Show, Celebrity Juice, and Love 

Island Aftersun, and Comedy Central’s 

Roast Battle. 

The Pounds Arts 

Centre 

Pound Pill, Corsham SN13 9HX 

01249 701628 

www.poundarts.org.uk 


The Schmoozenbergs 

Conjuring up the mood of 1930s Paris, 

fused with flavours of Eastern Europe and 

the energy of a campfire jam session, The 

Schmoozenbergs’ uplifting music will put 

a smile on your face and a spring in your 

step. 


Stuart Goldsmith - End Of 

Stu’s back with a comic odyssey on how it 

works out in the end, and whether anyone 

cares. Intelligent stand-up comedy for 

everybody, but of particular interest to 

people over thirty who’ve lost touch with all 

their old friends and can’t eat just the one 

pain au chocolat. 

continued

Meg’s Maternity Nursing 

Personalised postnatal care 

24 hour maternity nurse 

Daily maternity nurse 

Support with all postnatal care; 

Feeding 

Bathing 

Soothing 

Changing 

Safe sleeping 

Establishing routines 

15 years experience as a 

qualified midwife 

Fully insured 

Enhanced DBS certificate 

Paediatric first aid certificate 

Registered midwife 

Birth debrief 

Getting parenting 

off to the best start 

f @megsmaternitynursing 

M megcooper15@gmail.com 


Saturday 1 February, 2pm 

Charmane 

Piggin thinks that Charmane is a kitten 

because that’s what he sees on the 

outside, but Charmane doesn’t feel like a 

kitten on the inside. Join two best friends 

as they learn about themselves and how to 

truly see each other. A family show. 

Saturday 8 February, 7.30pm 

Eduardo Niebla 

A master of today’s generation Eduardo 

has traversed the worlds of jazz, classical, 

world and pop music, collaborating with 

such diverse partners as Craig David, Juno 

Reactor, sitar maestro Nishat Khan, Lol 

Coxhill (sax) and the Dante String Quartet. 

Friday 21 February, 7.30pm 

Ye Vagabonds 

Brothers Brian and Diarmuid MacGloinn 

grew up playing music together around 

their small hometown of Carlow, in the 

southeast of Ireland. After moving to Dublin 

in 2012, they quickly became a staple of 

the live music and session scene, playing 

their original songs as well as folk songs 

from Ireland, Scotland, England and 

America. 

Wilton House 

Wilton, Salisbury SP2 0BJ 

01722 746700 

www.wiltonhouse.com 

6-8 March, 10.30am - 5pm 

Wilton House Annual Antiques Fair 

Held at the beautiful Palladian home of 

the Earl & Countess of Pembroke, this 

independent, three-day event hosts 40+ 

exhibitors presenting a choice of art, 

antiques, design and decorative arts. 

Including jewellery, furniture, carpets, 

textiles, antiquities, clocks, ceramics, silver 

and fine art, authenticity is assured thanks 

to a specialist committee pre-vetting 

everything on sale. 

So with something for everyone, the Wilton 

House Antique Fair offers lots of temptation 

and a door to an intriguing world. 

Wiltshire Music Centre 

Bradford-upon-Avon BA15 1DZ 

01225 860100 

www.wiltshiremusic.org.uk 

Saturday 11 January, 7.30pm 

42nd Street (As Live) 

Filmed live at the magnificent Theatre 

Royal, Drury Lane, 42nd Street tells the 

story of Peggy Sawyer, a talented young 

performer with stars in her eyes who gets 

her big break on Broadway. Fresh off 

the bus from small-town America Peggy 

is just another face in the chorus line on 

Broadway’s newest show. But when the 


leading lady gets injured, Peggy might just 

have the shot at stardom she’s always 

dreamed of.... 

Friday 17 - Sunday 19 January 

Bradford Roots Music Festival 

Local music, crafts, dance and food 

combine for another edition of the 

unmissable Bradford Roots Music Festival. 

From folk to jazz, bluegrass to world and 

everything in between its sure that this 

iconic community music event will put a 

smile on your face, even in the depths of 

winter! 

Saturday 1 February, 3pm 

Sir Scallywag & The Battle of Stinky 

Bottom 

Join a young knight as he embarks on an 

epic musical adventure full of thrills and 

magic! 

When King Colin sets his sights on finding 

the famous Golden Sausage, there’s only 

one person for the job Sir Scallywag! 

But will the six-year-old knight be might 

enough to defeat the filthy trolls and win the 

Stinkiest Battle Ever? 

This concert for families, is based on the 

brilliant children’s book by Gile Andreae. 

Sunday 16 February, 3pm 

Cory Band 

Bratton Silver Band is delighted to welcome 

back the award-winning Cory Band to 

the Wiltshire Music Centre for an exciting 

afternoon of musical dynamism. Proud of 

their Welsh roots in the Rhondda Valley, 

the Cory Band is recognised as one of the 

world’s most successful and innovative 

music ensembles. 

Wednesday 19 February, 7.30pm 

Fara 

All-female folk quartet FARA bring the 

spirit of the Orkney Isles and its people 

to Wiltshire, showcasing the unique fiddle 

tradition of their home alongside their 

contemporary and original songs and 

tunes. 

Saturday 29 February, 7.30pm 

Blazin’ Fiddles 

Take a group of the hottest contemporary 

fiddle players from the Highlands and 

Islands of Scotland, mix with some 

wonderfully sympathetic piano and guitar 

arrangements and you’ve got the award 

winning Blazin’ Fiddles on your hands. Nine 

albums and thousands of touring miles 

behind them, their passion burns brighter 

than ever as Blazin’ Fiddles celebrate 21 

years together. 

Wyvern Theatre 

Theatre Square, Swindon SN1 1QN 

01793 524481 

www.swindontheatres.co.uk 

Thursday 9 January, 7.30pm 

A Country Night In Nashville 

The show all country music fans have been 

waiting for is rolling into town! Recreating 

the energy and atmosphere of a buzzing 

Honky Tonk in downtown Nashville, it will 

take you on a journey through the history of 

country music. 

Friday 10 January, 7.30pm 

Rock for Heroes 

Following on from their hugely successful 

first year of touring, the incredible Rock 

for Heroes is back on the road for 2020 

bringing the perfect combination of 

your favourite Rock & Pop artists, and 

fundraising in support of Help for Heroes. 

Saturday 11 January, 7.30pm 

Sounds Of The 60s - 

Live With Tony Blackburn 

Hosted by DJ royalty Tony Blackburn, the 

show features songs, stories and memories 

from the golden decade of pop with music 

performed live by the Sounds Of The 60s 

All Star Band & Singers. 

Tuesday 14 January, 7.30pm 

An Evening With Glenn Hoddle 

This is your chance to spend An Evening 

With Glenn Hoddle. One of Tottenham’s 

greatest players, Glenn came through 

the youth ranks at the Club to make 490 

appearances in all competitions, between 

1975-1987, placing him fifth in the all-time 

appearance list. He also scored 110 goals 

in that time. 

Thursday 16 January, 7.30pm 

Chicago Blues Brothers - 

A Night At The Movies 

Direct from London’s West End, join the 

Chicago Blues Brothers and their 11 

piece band, for a brand new 2-hour all 

singing, all dancing hit parade bringing you 

the greatest movie anthems of all time, 

performed live in concert. 

Friday 24 January, 7.30pm 

Legend The Music of Bob Marley 

This is an unforgettable evening celebrating 

this musical icon in one fantastic stage 

show extravaganza. Combining his 

superb, distinctive vocals with flawless 

musicianship, and a very talented cast. 

Wednesday 29 January, 1.05pm 

Paul Turner banishes the January 

Blues 

Banish the January blues with some 

beautiful piano music by Chopin! Paul 

Turner, the Swindon Recital Series founder, 

makes a much-anticipated return with a 

programme of melodic and contemplative 

compositions. Included are such favourites 

as the ‘Raindrop Prelude’, ‘Fantaisie- 

Impromptu’ and the ‘minute’ waltz. 

Wednesday 5 February, 7.30pm 

Sing-a-Long-a Bohemian Rhapsody 

Celebrate Queen, their music, and their 

extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. 

Sit back and sing along with the on screen 

lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody, Under 

Pressure and Somebody to Love not 

forgetting you, the audience, becoming part 

of their famous Live Aid concert. 

Saturday 22 February 

Spirit Of The Dance 

The international smash-hit Spirit of the 

Dance celebrates 21 fabulous years as one 

of the most successful dance shows ever. 

One of the most exciting dance shows 

ever, this high octane extravaganza takes 

dance to the next level, in an explosive 

fusion of heart pounding Irish Dance 

combined with dance styles from round 

the world. 

We take great care in compiling the listings, 

however we recommend that you check with the 

venue in advance as events and activities may 

be subject to change.

New resolutions 

made at Avebury 

© National Trust 2019. Registered Charity no. 205846. 

Photography © National Trust Images/James Dobson 

Why not take the Wiltshire Landscape 

Walking Challenge as your New Year's 

resolution? 12 Wiltshire walks in a year. 

These are the places that make us. 

nationaltrust.org.uk/Avebury 


arnes 

Holidays 

For 2020 

Holidays 4 Days 

& Over we can 

offer you a free 

home pick up! 

See website for full T&C’s 

UK & European 

Coach 

Holidays 

2020 

01793 821303 

01793 821303 

www.barnescoaches.co.uk 


01793 821303 


UK & European 

UK & European 

Coach 

Holidays 


Coach 

Holidays 


Book the perfect Summer Coach Holiday with Barnes 

Coaches! There’s a wide range of UK & European Breaks, 

so you’re sure to find somewhere you’d love to go! 

01793 821303 


travel@barnescoaches.co.uk

Home-Start Kennet 

Helping Local Families 

ADVERTISING FEATURE 

Home-Start Kennet provides vital support 

to families struggling to cope. Volunteers 

visit families weekly to give emotional 

and practical support and helped 98 

families and 198 children last year... 

Volunteer, Charlotte, knows only too well how Home-Start 

supports families, having received help herself over ten years 

ago. Trapped at home with two young children by depression and 

anxiety, Charlotte was caught in a downward spiral that could 

only have ended badly for her and the children. 

“I do feel like this charity saved my life,” she says. “I know that 

sounds dramatic but it is true, they saved me. 

“I had two older children and then got married again and had a 

two-year-old and a one-year-old,” she recalls. “I thought I had 

done it all before so it would be easy, but I got depression and 

anxiety and I just couldn’t cope. I wouldn’t go out, I wouldn’t 

socialise. 

“Along came my volunteer Dawn, who came for a few weeks just 

for a coffee and to play with my youngest. Once she got to know 

us, she got us going to the children’s centre.” 

Just getting Charlotte to the centre was an achievement, but the 

volunteer’s skill and patience helped her go further. 

Recalls Charlotte: “At first she would walk with me to the centre 

and after a while she’d say ‘I’ll meet you there’ and then one day 

she said ‘I’ll be half an hour late’, so I had to walk in on my own 

and it worked. I made friends and started going on my own. 

“At first when Dawn visited, I felt a failure, but when I realised it 

was doing the children good and that it was actually nice to get 

out and meet people, it made me feel really motivated.” 

Scheme Manager, Tania Rackham, says: “Volunteers visit families 

with young children who are struggling for a range of reasons … 

multiple birth, isolation, bereavement, mental health issues … it 

could be a single parent, families, younger or older mums, there 

is no typical case. Volunteer support can make a big difference, 

often just listening is all that is needed.” 

Home-Start is recruiting now for new volunteers. 

Contact hskadmin@homestartkennet.co.uk 

Can you help Local Families? 

We are there for parents when they need us most 

Home-Start helps families in and around Marlborough, 

Devizes, Pewsey, Tidworth, Calne and Chippenham who are 

struggling to cope, by giving support in the home. 

We’re looking for volunteers who have: 

✓ A friendly, positive nature 

✓ Great listening skills and empathy 

✓ Parenting skills or relevant life experience 

✓ Time to visit families weekly for 2-3 hours 

Full training provided. Next training starts March 2020. 

Contact us to find out more. 

T: 01672 569457 

E: hskadmin@homestartkennet.co.uk 

W: www.homestartkennet.co.uk 

Home Start Kennet is committed to equality, diversity and safe recruitment. 

This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check. Charity number: 1106736 


LIFE 

GIFTING: 

PLANNING 

FOR THE 

FUTURE 

Parents often want to help their children with their future 

plans. They often seek advice about the best way to help 

financially when they make a will. Key issues are when they 

purchase a home or want to start a family. 

Gifting money to children to help 

them buy their first house is ever 

more commonplace because of 

the high cost of housing. Although 

many carefully consider the tax 

implications of making gifts, they 

must also consider how such funds 

will be taken into account should 

the relationship break down. Why? 

If a relationship breaks down, that 

gift, often an advancement of a 

future inheritance, may fall into 

the matrimonial pot of assets and 

as a consequence be available for 

division. 

Avoiding the gift becoming a 

matrimonial asset 

One option to help prevent an 

unwanted “mingling” of assets 

is to establish a pre-nuptial or a 

post nuptial agreement. These can 

clearly set out wishes as to what 

will happen should the relationship 

break down. They are not strictly 

binding on a court upon marriage 

breakdown but if correctly prepared 

and certain conditions are fulfilled 

they will be taken into account and, 

depending on the circumstances of 

the spouses, may be binding. The 

10 | www.marlboroughliving.co.uk

principal is that any agreement reached by the 

parties does not oust the court’s power to make 

financial orders upon marriage breakdown. 

Another option is to loan the funds and retain a 

beneficial interest in any property by way of a 

declaration of trust, which clearly sets out what 

contribution has been made to the purchase 

along with other relevant provisions to safeguard 

that interest. 

An alternative is an interest free loan - the terms 

of which can be set out in a detailed contract - or 

an equitable mortgage that could be created but 

not registered against the property. The problem 

with money being given to children, for example 

to pay their legal fees, on marriage breakdown is 

that these funds are liable to be viewed as soft 

loans which are not actually repayable and so not 

taken into account when dividing the matrimonial 

assets. 

How children can help to keep assets 

out of the matrimonial pot 

Depending on the financial circumstances in 

the marriage, inherited and gifted funds can be 

ring-fenced out of the matrimonial pot if kept 

completely separate from matrimonial assets. 

One example is not to pay off a mortgage but 

keep an entirely separate investment retaining the 

income away from any mingling in family income. 

It can sometimes be tax efficient to place funds 

into in to a trust for children and/or grandchildren. 

This is a complex area and care must be taken 

as a matrimonial court will look into and can take 

into account the value of the beneficiary’s interest 

in a trust. Gifts paid into trusts to grandchildren 

are viewed differently. This can be a tax efficient 

way forward but tax advice is important when 

considering this more complex option. 

It is essential that specialist legal advice is 

obtained before gifting funds to children. Tax 

advice alone is not recommended. 

Contact us 

For more information on gifting or for 

any queries related to matrimonial 

assets, contact Maria Mulroe, partner 

in the Family law team, at enquiries@ 

roydswithyking.com or by telephone 

on 01672 514 781. 


2020 TRENDS 

WEDDING 

From the Dress to the Decor... 

WEDDED BLISS 

The standard wedding traditions of 

going to a church with your nearest and 

dearest, bridesmaids in pastels and run 

of the mill wedding table decor seem 

long behind us as couples are starting 

to plan their weddings according to their 

personalities. Even Meghan Markle broke 

Royal tradition in her wedding to Harry 

when she made her own speech. With 

that in mind, we take a look at some of 

the changing trends for weddings. 

THE DRESS 

Whilst many brides still favour traditional 

white dresses, a lot of brides are 

choosing dresses away from tradition, 

opting for dresses that not only make 

them look incredible, but are easy and 

comfortable to wear. Spending hours 

deliberating on whether to go for a 

meringue, ballgown, a-line or mermaid 

dress is out, and instead, brides are 

choosing dresses that show off their 

features whilst staying in line with their 

personalities too. Newer style options 

include gowns with pockets, two-piece 

skirts and tops and changes from day 

to night. 

BRIDESMAIDS 

Bridesmaids still, and will almost certainly 

continue to do so, play a massive part 

in a girl’s big day. They used to be a 

dressed in a sort of one size fits all 

mentality, with certain dress styles not 

suiting all bridesmaids. That, luckily, is 

a thing of the past, with brides taking 

their time to choose dresses that flatter 

their friends, are fun and comfortable to 

wear, and usually able to be worn again 

after the occasion. New trends include 

allowing bridesmaids to choose their 

own dress within a certain colour palette, 

or dresses which can be tied in multiple 

ways. 

ECO-FRIENDLY 

WEDDINGS 

Sustainable weddings are becoming 

increasingly popular amongst couples 

tying the knot. With weddings creating 

a lot of waste from leftover food to 

unwanted wedding decor, and a big 

carbon footprint on getting guests to 

and from the venue, it is easy to see why 

couples are looking for ways to reduce 

their carbon footprint. Before you think 

‘wedding in a field’, having an ecofriendly 

wedding does not mean doing 

everything outside. There are lots of 

ways that you can make your day a little 

bit more sustainable, such as choosing 

a location close to you (less travelling 

for you and guests), using e-invitations 

instead of traditional invites, or opt for 

recycled paper, and avoiding disposable 

dinnerware and instead opting hiring 

equipment and wedding decor. You can 

also make your own wedding favours, or 

give out gifts that people can reuse, we 

love the idea of little packs of wildflower 

seeds or even an eco-friendly soap from 

companies such as Chateau du Savon. 

WEDDING CAKES 

Even wedding cakes have changed over 

time. From your traditional fruit cake 

through to cakes made from wheels 

of cheese and even those made of 

doughnuts, there are plenty of different 

options to choose from. With increasing 

numbers of food intolerances and 

allergies and people stepping away 

from traditional choices, couples again 

are choosing cakes that reflect their 

personalities. 

WEDDING DECOR 

Even wedding decor has taken a shift 

away from tradition over the years. 

With Instagram, Pinterest to name but 

two, brides to be spend hours trawling 

through social media looking for wedding 

inspiration. Again, this is now more about 

what suits the personalities of the happy 

couple, with them choosing decor that 

reflects the ambience and atmosphere 

they are trying to create, over having 

everything matching! 


SPIRIT 

FASHION 

Lolly’s Laundry 

Mos Mosh 

French Connection 

Great Plains 

Onjenu 

King Louie 

Indi & Cold 

Nice Things Paloma 

One Hundred Stars 

Birkenstock 

Victoria 

3 HIGH STREET, DEVIZES SN10 1AT 01380 729933 

www.spiritfashion.co.uk 


THE LUXURY WEDDING 

Wish List 

Hen House Brides 

The home of timeless exquisite bridalwear 

and accessories. Book a free VIP 

appointment. 01380 739930 

brides@henhousehq.co.uk 

Hen House Devizes 

From flower-girl to bridesmaid, mother of 

the bride to a day at the races, Hen House 

has a dress for every occasion. 01380 

739930 | redhen@henhousehq.co.uk 

Fox in the House 

Fox in the House pulls together the classic 

feel of Britain at its best with Formal 

Hire and Menswear for all events. 01380 

739447 | hire@foxinthehouse.co.uk 

Jill Jeffries Creative Floristry 

Stylish wedding flowers in Wiltshire & 

Bath. From intimate dinner parties to grand 

formal affairs, Jill call for a personal service 

07977201067 | Jilljeffries.com 

Goldsworthys Hairdressing 

Five-time winner of the British Hairdresser 

of the Year, we deliver sensational haircuts 

and colours as well as specialising in Bridal 

Hair. 01793 523817 | goldsworthys.com 

The Flying Pig Cake Emporium 

Creating beautiful bespoke wedding 

cakes and wedding favours for your 

special day. 01249 817225 

flyingpigcakeemporium.co.uk 

Sticks and Stones 

Beautiful one off bespoke handmade 

chopping boards made in Wiltshire. A 

popular and unique gift for him and her. 

01672 852268 

uksticksandstones.com 

Lucy Jane Illustrations 

Why not give a unique and personalised 

gift to a wonderful couple? Fully 

commissioned to suit the couple, these 

individual art pieces make the ideal gift. 

Etsy: @IllustrationsByLucyJ 

Haus Life 

For the added final touches, Haus Life has 

the perfect jewellery for wedding guests or 

gifts for bridesmaids – all in sterling silver 

or gold plate. From £11. 

hauslife.co.uk 


Exquisite Clothes, 

Shoes & Accessories 

92 The High Street Marlborough SN8 1HD 

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bridge street clinic 

Bridge Street Skin Clinic is a high-end 

medical skincare clinic, aiming to bring the 

Harley Street experience, to rural Berkshire... 

The beautiful and discreet clinic 

overlooking the River Dam in Hungerford, 

is run by Dr Tara Kidd and Skin Therapist 

Lina Ryan, who are both passionate 

about skincare and helping patients 

achieve the results they want. Both have 

trained on Harley Street, London the 

world renowned centre of excellence for 

aesthetic and cosmetic medicine. 

Dr Tara and Lina know that starting a 

process to address skin issues can be a 

daunting one, and feel privileged to be 

able to help patients on their skincare 

journey. Uniquely we offer a free noobligations 

consultation to each and 

every patient to discuss their skincare 

concerns, and tailor a bespoke package 

of treatments. Dr Tara says “We know 

that a huge amount of self esteem is tied 

up in our skin and how we feel about the 

way we look, and whilst we encourage 

all our patients to embrace their 

imperfections, and the uniqueness of who 

we all are, we feel honoured to have the 

chance to help people with issues that 

may have affected their confidence for 

years, and there is nothing so satisfying 

as a patient telling us that for the first 

time in their lives, they feel confident in 

their own skin”. 

Dr Tara and Lina work closely together 

providing bespoke packages to skincare 

to target the signs of skin ageing and 

skin disease, from the inside out. They 

believe passionately that the best way 

to get glowing, radiant skin, is to have 

healthy skin, and so combine nutritional 

and lifestyle advice, with prescription 

only skincare, luxurious facials, injectable 

body and face therapies and other 

treatments. Unlike some clinics where 

non-medical professionals perform 

injectable treatments, Dr Tara personally 

performs all wrinkle reduction, dermal 

fillers, fat dissolving, and chemical peels, 

whilst Lina is the expert on a wide range 

of luxurious facials and micro needling 

and electrical skin treatments and will 

consult carefully with each patient to 

ensure the facial treatment and facial 

massage is targeted to their concerns. 

With so many new therapies being 

developed all the time, they continually 

research new treatments, and undergo 

regular continued masterclasses and 

training to ensure they remain up to date 

with all the latest developments and can 

offer patients the very best options. 

Lina says “We forget at this time of year, 

that we still need to really take care of our 

skin. Despite the cold weather, our skin 

still needs daily protection from the sun , 

and most people only concentrate on this 

in the summer time. Cold weather and 

central heating both create considerable 

stress for our skin, and winter is the 

perfect opportunity to get our skin 

healthy before the summer months”. 

This is particularly important for brides 

who are planning summer weddings. 

Whilst most brides do choose a good 

make up artist on the day, make up will 

always look far better and more natural 

on healthy skin and Bridge Street Skin 

Clinic offers a discount to any brides 

wanting a bespoke package of skincare 

in the run up to their big day. Combining 

non invasive treatments, skin conditioning 

treatments and facials, as well as dermal 

fillers, and wrinkle reduction, Dr Tara 

and Lina can ensure that each bride 

has perfect skin for their big day and 

will look radiant on the day. “We would 

suggest that anyone contemplating 

wanting to improve their skin radiance 

in the run up to a wedding, whether the 

mother of the bride, bridesmaids or the 

bride themselves, get in touch for a free 

consultation to discuss how we can help 

in the months before”, says Dr Tara. 

“We have been able to get brides with 

scarring or acne on their backs, able to 

wear beautiful backless dresses, 

So for a really unique and bespoke skin 

care journey, look no further than BSSC. 

Their team approach, multiple treatment 

options,and the stunning luxury clinic 

setting make it a rewarding skincare 

journey that you will be delighted with. 

07388634713 

hello@bridgestreetskinclinic.co.uk 

6 Bridge St, Hungerford RG17 0EH 



if the 

shoe fits... 

We speak to Karl Edwards, of 

Crosby & Lawrence, to find 

out what he recommends 

when it comes to purchasing 

sportswear... 

A common error is wearing the wrong trainer or wrong size. For 

running, we have both neutral & corrective trainers. Corrective 

trainers aid those who over-pronate (excessive rolling inward of 

ankles) & help correct the gait. This is common in people with 

low arches or flat feet. Wearing corrective trainers when they 

are not needed can actually lead to further issues or even injury. 

Feet can be looked at & appropriate advice given in store & this 

is one of the reasons we do not sell online. And of course, all 

trainers vary in size according to brand & style. 

Visit us today 

67 High St, Marlborough 

01672 892498 

Trainers are now tailored to each individual sport with 

appropriate technicalities built in to them. We see various 

damage on trainers or even injury from wearing inappropriate 

footwear, wearing a running trainer to play tennis for instance. 

Some simple fundamental differences in the shoes are based on 

body movement within the sport. Running trainers are designed 

to go heel to toe, where as a tennis shoe is designed to move 

side to side, forwards, backwards & has drag protection. This 

does not mean there can’t be any cross over but, we always aim 

to provide the most appropriate trainer based on an individual’s 

needs. 

How has sporting emphasis changed? 

Team sports have grown in popularity & we are lucky to have 

such a diverse range of clubs for all ages & abilities in this area. 

Any sport you can think of, there is a local club from Hockey, 

Football, Rugby & tennis to the lesser known sports, Tri-athlon, 

Fives’ & Boules for example. Even individual sports have clubs 

promoting health, socialisation, motivation & fun! 

Do you have a favourite sport yourself? 

I have played football all my life & enjoy watching it. I also 

enjoy playing a variety of sports especially cricket (KVCC). We 

have been spoilt this past year or so with the entertainment & 

successes of both Mens & Ladies national teams in the CWC, 

World cup, RWC & so on. 

Who are your sporting idols? 

Other than Paula Radcliffe, for me, it would be Matt LeTissier. 

His on the pitch performance was simply magical but, he never 

left Southampton & the people he adored. He was offered eye 

watering contracts to play for “bigger” clubs but, stayed loyal 

to his first club. This was & is a very rare quality to have. He 

was motivated through the enjoyment of sport, the fans & not 

financial reward. 

CROSBY & 

LAWRENCE 

67 HIGH ST, MARLBOROUGH 

01672 892498 

CROSBY@MARBOROUGHCOLLEGE.ORG 


FIGHTING FIT 

Katie Thomson caught up with legendary athlete 

Paula Radcliffe to discuss her career, the Olympics 

and avoiding the winter flu... 

Super athlete, long distance running expert and until 

recently, marathon world record holder - Paula Radcliffe 

has had a glittering career in sport, lead by her incredible 

endurance abilities. What people might not know though, 

is Paula is asthmatic. Her asthma is exercise-induced 

and is something she has had to manage throughout 

her career. So, it makes sense that she is backing a 

campaign by ASDA pharmacy encouraging asthmatics 

and anyone at risk to get a free flu jab this winter. 

So, asthma sufferers are taking unnecessary risks by 

not getting the flu vaccine in the year? 

Absolutely. Personally it’s something I get every year because 

you can lose an entire winter season of training if you get flu. Too 

many asthma sufferers don’t realise they can get it for free funded 

by the NHS - they can also get it straight from ASDA pharmacies. 

And even if you’re not in an at risk group, you can still go and get 

the vaccine for only £7. It protects you and your family too - this 

is especially important if you have a carer role in your family, either 

of younger or older members of the family, and you just can’t 

afford to be wiped out by flu. 

How has asthma affected your running? 

Well, I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma, but 

some of the worst attacks I’ve had have been sitting in 

a dusty room or in a polluted city. I was diagnosed at 14 

so I have always really had it with my running. I was really 

lucky that I had a really good GP at the time who never 

told me to stop exercising - he gave me all the tools to 

manage it and encouraged me to exercise as that would 

actually strengthen my lungs. 

So really the flu vaccine closes you down from getting 

ill unnecessarily? 

Exactly - the vaccine works again the four most prevalent 

strains of flu. When you have asthma, you just get knocked 

so much more by flu - not with the duration of the flu but with 

the secondary complications that follow like bronchitis and 

pneumonia. 

Away from the world of coughs and colds and with 

sights on next year, are you looking forward to 

the 2020 Olympics with such strong recent British 

performances? 

We had such a great World Championships with Dina [Asher- 

Smith] and Kat [Katarina Johnson-Thompson] stepping up so 

spectacularly and showing their world-class abilities. Callum 

Hawkins is one to watch in the marathon. I think there was a lot 

of talk about where the next stars would come from and I think 

that’s been answered - we are in a strong position with a relatively 

young team, building toward Tokyo. 

Now, it’s never nice to lose a world record but you 

must be surprised to have held it for as long as you 

did? 

The longer it goes on the more it feels like it belonged to me! This 

wasn’t really a surprise though because I saw how well Brigid 

Kosgei ran in the Great North Run. 

In a fitness world which can be confusing, running is 

relatively simple - what would be your tips to retune 

fitness goals in the new year? 

Firstly, get some new gear. Running in new kit makes you feel 

good about yourself and a pair of trainers which support your 

gait and the surface you will run on are essential. Set a goal - 

pick something you are going to work toward like a race or a 

sponsored run. Then join a running club or get together with a 

group of friends - it helps hugely with motivation. Finally, go for 

a run on 1st January - get out there and go for it - that one is 

always the hardest! 


1 

SPICE THINGS UP 

We all know we should eat more veggies 

(ideally 10 portions per day), but we could also 

be reaping huge health benefits from herbs and 

spices by introducing them into our diets. Here 

are just a few with phenomenal healthy stats. 

SAGE - Current research indicates that sage 

may be able to improve brain function and 

memory, especially in people with Alzheimer's 

disease. 

Alzheimer's disease is accompanied by a 

drop in the level of acetylcholine, a chemical 

messenger in the brain. Sage inhibits the 

breakdown of acetylcholine 

CINNAMON - Cinnamon has potent 

antioxidant activity, helps fight inflammation 

and has been shown to lower cholesterol and 

triglycerides in the blood. 

2 

STRETCH IT OUT 

DAILY STRETCHES - Most people think that 

stretching is for gym bunnies or yogis, but daily stretching 

can have huge benefits in both pain management and 

prevention, and can delay the onset of age-related immobility. A great idea 

is to try to fit in a few as you get out of bed in the morning. 

• Firstly, lying flat on your back, hold each knee up to your chest and 

hold for 15 seconds on each side. 

• Then lying on the bed, raise one of your knees, and gently roll it 

over to the opposite side. Make sure both of your shoulders stay in 

contact with the bed at all times. 

• Sit on the edge of your bed, with your feet flat on the floor. Interlock 

your fingers and reach forward, bending from your middle back. 

Stretch with your hands forward at shoulder level. 

• Come to a standing position and stand with your feet hip-width 

apart and clasp your hands above your head. Gently lean your 

body to one side, feeling a deep stretch along the side of your 

body. Hold for 10-15 seconds and repeat on the other side. 

MYOFASCIAL MASSAGE - Myofascial release is an alternative 

medicine therapy claimed to be useful for treating skeletal muscle 

immobility and pain by relaxing contracted muscles, improving 

circulation, and stimulating the stretch reflex in muscles. You 

can reap the benefits at home using a foam roller 

to work out areas of tension in the body. The 

stretching motion helps to increase joint mobility 

and the targeted pressure on your fascia helps to 

release trigger points where you’re feeling pain. 

Performance Foam Roller, 

£19.99,1000mile.co.uk 

TAKE A BREATH 

According to the Mayo Clinic, there’s sufficient evidence that intentional 

deep breathing can actually calm and regulate the autonomic nervous 

system (ANS). This system regulates our involuntary body functions such 

as temperature, heart rate, digestion and respiratory rate. It can lower blood 

pressure and provide an almost immediate sense of calm. 

Cinnamon can lower blood sugar by several 

mechanisms, including by slowing the 

breakdown of carbs in the digestive tract and 

improving insulin sensitivity. The effective dose 

per day is 0.5 - 2 teaspoons. 

TURMERIC - Turmeric contains Curcumin 

is a remarkably powerful antioxidant, helping 

to fight oxidative damage and boosting the 

body's own antioxidant enzymes. 

The slow holding of breath allows CO2 to build up in the blood. An 

increased blood CO2 enhances the cardio-inhibitory response of the vagus 

nerve when you exhale and stimulates your parasympathetic system. This 

produces a calm and relaxed feeling in the mind and body. 

BOX BREATHING - Box breathing, also known as square breathing, 

is a technique used when taking slow, deep breaths. It can heighten 

performance and concentration while also being a powerful stress reliever. 

It’s also called four-square breathing. 

It's very simple - the cadence is 1:1:1:1. Deeply and slowly inhale for five 

seconds, hold your breath for five seconds, exhale slowly for five seconds, 

then hold your breath again for five seconds. Repeat at least four times. 

Curcumin is also strongly anti-inflammatory, to 

the point where it matches the effectiveness of 

3 

some anti-inflammatory drug. Inflammation is 

the root cause of most Western diseases, so 

the regular inclusion of turmeric is a no-brainer. 

GINGER - Ginger is known for its efficacy 

in treating nausea, but alongside that it is 

said to have anti-inflammatory properties. 

Research found that a mixture of ginger, 

cinnamon, mastic, and sesame oil decreased 

pain and stiffness experienced by those with 

osteoarthritis. It had a similar effectiveness as 

treatment with aspirin or ibuprofen. 


TAILOR YOUR WORKOUT 

We are all very different - the requirements in diet and fitness terms from one 

person to another vary hugely, as do our needs as we become fitter - that's a 

common issue with fitness equipment for the home - workouts can stagnate 

easily, leading to slowed progress and ultimately disenchantment. 

The new Bowflex Max Trainer M8 is the first home exercise equipment to 

possess an Artificial Intelligence platform that can help people reach peak 

fitness and keep their home regime dynamic and interesting. The AI platform, 

called JRNY, uses AI algorithms, data from an initial assessment, and 

tracking from previous workouts to create personalised daily workouts based on the 

user’s fitness goals. Each custom workout is adjusted automatically based on how the 

user is feeling, how much they improve, and their past performance. 

In addition to the new AI platform, the new Bowflex Max Trainer M8 boasts enhanced 

features over its predecessor, the M7. Combining the full-body, low-impact motion 

of an elliptical with the calorie-torching power of a stepper, the fat-burning capability 

of the Max Trainer M8 is unmatched. At a fraction of the size of most ellipticals 

and treadmills, this space-saving machine is designed to fit in every home gym 

environment, and with handy integrated transport wheels, it can be moved about with 

ease. The Max Trainer M8 is available exclusively from Fitness Superstore for £1999. 

4 

LIVE WELL IN 

4 TIPS FOR A HEALTHIER AND 

HAPPIER YEAR AHEAD 


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New Year, 

Same Old Me? 

Not this time! 

January can be an exciting time, a time 

to look forward to new challenges and 

maybe a new chapter in our lives... 

It can be, but sometimes it won’t be 

and we view the new year with a sinking 

feeling that it is just going to be a 

recycled old year, same problems, same 

disappointments and same outcome. 

February is the time we all think about 

love. Valentine’s Day brings with it a 

whole load of mixed emotions, happiness 

and joy to sadness and loneliness. If you 

have been disappointed in love, now is 

the time to embark on that new chapter, 

but with the exciting prospect that this 

year will be different. If it’s a revolution in 

your love life you’re looking for, look no 

further! 

My name is Heather Garbutt; also known 

as The Love Lady. I am the Wiltshire Love 

and Relationship Coach and I help clients 

to attract and deepen true love. Here are 

some tips from me to light your way. 

Be kind to yourself 

Contradictory as it may seem, the path 

to a good relationship is rooted in the 

way you feel about and treat yourself. 

If you feel good about yourself, you will 

attract others who feel good about you 

too. If you treat yourself well, others will 

too. Self-love is often spoken about but 

what does it really mean? It might be 

about meeting the basic human needs 

for enough rest and sleep, good food and 

fresh air, but what we mean here is being 

truly kind to and accepting of ourselves. 

Not an easy thing to do in our culture 

that is filled with criticism and feelings of 

shame and blame. 

Hold your feelings and needs in mind 

A good relationship is based on listening 

to one another with warmth and 

acceptance, planning together with each 

other in mind, being supportive when 

we make mistakes. It’s exactly the same 

with our relationship with ourselves. We 

need to take steps to create our own 

happiness, listening to our own feelings, 

needs and heart-felt desires and acting 

on them to fulfil them. Don’t wait around 

for someone else to do it. 

Stop self-sacrificing 

This is a common and much needed 

trait for the nurturing of relationships and 

raising of children, but if it goes too far, 

there is no one left to love and relate to 

and we can end up feeling depressed, 

empty, bitter and disappointed and can 

even lead to stress related illnesses. 

Receive as well as give 

We need to think about what feeds us, 

what we need to receive as much as what 

we want to give. This can also go against 

the grain of our culture but without this 

our mental health really suffers. 

Listen to our vulnerability 

We have inside us parts of ourselves 

that are very young, our “little self”, 

parts that are vulnerable, parts that hold 

back, parts that are lonely, parts that are 

self-protective. They all need listening 

to, nurturing and including. It’s good to 

have inner conversations between those 

parts to make sure your most loving and 

wise self is driving your life. If we go into 

relationships from our “little self” we give 

over responsibility for our happiness to the 

other person to “make it all better” and 

along with that we give our power and 

create unhealthy co-dependence and even 

abusive relationships. Apart from anything 

else, no other person can really take care 

of our “little self” for us. They can support 

us and do it with us, but if they do it for us, 

they become a parental figure. 

How can we do all of this? 

Firstly, become more aware of your inner 

feelings and needs that are rooted in the 

“little one”. One of the easiest ways is to 

listen to a Feelings and Needs meditation. 

You will find one of these on my website 

entitled, The Foundation for Love. 

I made this to help my clients through the 

intense feelings generated by separation 

and divorce, but it also forms the basis 

for self-love and love relationships too. 

You will develop a compassionate and 

supportive inner voice that will help you 

live your life in a more balanced and 

self-loving way, reduce your stress levels 

and set you on the straight path to true 

love and a happier life. All you have to do 

is listen to it. 

With deepest wishes for a year filled with 

joy and love. 

If you would like to work with Heather, 

call her now on 07808776150 or email her 

at heather@heathergarbutt.com or visit 

her website www.heathergarbutt.com to 

book an initial meeting. 


Time to trust in the future of prep schools 

It can’t be easy being a prospective 

parent of a prep school child. If you fall 

into this category you might be forgiven 

for thinking that there’s not much point as 

the whole fee paying independent school 

sector could be abolished in the near 

future if certain politically minded people 

get their way. 

Anything is possible, of course, but for 

this extremely vindictive approach to 

become a reality the Labour Party would 

need to adopt it formally as a policy which 

it has not yet done as well as achieve 

a working majority to pass legislation 

to make it happen. If all this does take 

place, however, don’t underestimate the 

independent school sector’s determination 

to fight for its existence with every legal 

pathway being followed to test the 

legitimacy of such a policy. There could 

even be a remarkable irony that should 

the UK still be in the EU at the time such 

legislation is brought forward it could be 

the European courts who stop the move in 

its tracks. As I said anything is possible. 

In the meantime, there is every reason to 

have confidence in prep schools and their 

future. IAPS (the Independent Association 

of Prep Schools) has over 600 of the top 

prep and fee-charging junior schools in the 

UK. The first step in your search for quality 

is to check if your possible short list of 

schools for your son or daughter carries 

the mark of quality by being a member of 

the heads’ association known as IAPS. 

This association has a history extending 

back over 126 years and the criteria 

for membership is strictly monitored to 

ensure both the head, and the school they 

work at, maintain the highest standards. 

School inspection reports are received 

by IAPS, for example, and any failings 

identified have to be rectified in good time 

to maintain membership. In one sense, 

therefore, the first level of due diligence a 

parent might feel it necessary to undertake 

is already done for them if the school can 

demonstrate they are members of IAPS 

and, better still, have been a member for 

many years. 

What should you do next as you are 

feeling your way through the maze of 

glossy publications and enticing web sites 

placed in front of you. The temptation is 

to look for a ‘brand’ name and, to some 

extent, this has merit as it will more often 

than not lead you to a school with a fine 

reputation polished over many years of 

conspicuous achievement. The question 

to ask, of course, is has the school a 

reputation for success in the areas which 

co-incide with the talents and interests 

of your child. A fine school’s sporting 

tradition is of little relevance if your child is 

a talented and developing musician – not 

that those two areas have to be mutually 

exclusive. 

The resort to social media and discussion 

forums is a likely step many will take but 

if your chosen pathway takes you in this 

direction then, at the risk of patronising 

you, the reader, beware. Do you use 

Tripadvisor when planning a stay away? 

Do you believe all the messages posted 

there and would you base your whole view 

of a school on the postings of a few with 

most likely a pro- or anti-line to promote 

for their own reasons. There might be 

themes to pick up on but it really needs 

each parent to seek out the things that are 

most important to you and your child. 

That brings me then to what you should 

do. The most important thing is to visit the 

school and not just on an official Open 

Day. If a school can’t buff itself up to look 

good on an official Open Day it really is 

a poor do. However, choose a day and 

time to suit you, though be reasonable 

when negotiating this. Nothing much is 

likely to be gained from a visit if a good 

proportion of the school is off their normal 

timetable or routine because it’s the day 

of the annual whole school cross country 

event. Ask to see the class your child 

would likely join at work and then visit 

older age groups, looking for obvious 

positive progression as revealed by the 

work displayed on the wall displays. Find 

out the answers to the questions you have 

about the areas important to you and 

judge how open and direct you find the 

responses from the school. In short trust 

your instincts and not wholly what others 

tell you. 

If you follow this advice you won’t go far 

wrong and then don’t lose any sleep over 

the long term future of your prep school. 

Let IAPS do that bit for you whilst you 

concentrate on finding the right school for 

your child. 

Christopher King 

CEO, IAPS 



Value of Independent 

thinking at Kumon - try it 

for free this February 

Exciting times are ahead for families at the 

Marlborough Kumon study centre as a new 

Instructor, Lindsay Barkholt, has taken the helm... 


Lindsay, a former Secondary School Teacher and Kumon 

Area Manager has seen first hand how important it is to equip 

students with not only the academic skills to achieve but also the 

study skills that enable them to thrive in the classroom and later 

life. With over 60 years of experience, Kumon enables children 

to take on challenges independently and to confidently approach 

new work. 

The Kumon Method of Learning is to develop independent 

thinking and learning skills in all students. The maths and English 

Programmes aim to take students beyond their school level, 

providing exposure to new topics they have not come across 

in their education. This compels them to develop new learning 

strategies to deal with unfamiliar work, students are encouraged 

to look at examples and come up with their own problems 

solving strategies. The development of independent learning 

also leads to that great feeling we all get when we have worked 

something out for ourselves, the ‘light bulb moment’ that comes 

from achieving something from our own thinking. The strategies 

students develop are not just instilled in them whilst they are with 

Kumon, the independence and confidence they gain is something 

that will stay with them for life. 

Kumon believes that learning is always for the long term. The 

individualised maths and English programmes enable each 

student to progress to an advanced level, above their school 

grade level, at their own pace. They develop lifelong study skills 

and a passion for learning, as well as the confidence to complete 

their work independently with the support and encouragement of 

their Instructor. 

The Kumon Marlborough Study Centre is located at 

Marlborough Community and Youth Centre, 30A St Margaret’s 

Mead, with classes running on Tuesday and Thursdays from 

3.30pm to 5.30pm. 

This February the Marlborough Kumon Study Centre is running 

a 7 day Free Trial where student can try a week of Kumon study 

for free. An enrolment meeting and free assessment is all that’s 

needed to get started. 

Places are limited so to book for the Free Trial contact 

Lindsay on 01672 515204 or email 

marlborough@kumoncentre.co.uk. 


NEW YEAR 

sustainable me 

With the swirling pressure 

of making New Year’s 

resolutions, it can be 

easy to get a little too 

introspective - most of the 

time, these resolutions 

centre on self improvement 

(or sometimes self 

flagellation disguised as 

self improvement!) but 

what if this year, instead of 

looking in, you looked out? 

We are all aware of the impact, both 

positive and negative, that we can have 

on the environment - so this year, we 

are investigating the ways we can be 

more sustainable in our daily choices 

and lifestyle. Information overload is a 

real threat though, pushing those with 

the best intentions into an environmental 

existential spin - to keep it simple, we’ve 

summed up a few small changes that 

could have a big impact that are easy to 

adopt into every day life. 

Home Energy Saving 

Our homes are big energy guzzlers. 

Both the emissions made by our central 

heating and the greenhouse gases 

created in electricity production are huge 

contributors to our carbon footprint. 

But lots of changes can be made in 

the home, which also have the added 

benefit of being money savers too… 

The UK’s leading price comparison 

website, MoneySuperMarket, reveals 

the costs and savings associated with 

the most readily available renewable 

energy sources and efficiencyimprovers 

around the home. 

Renewable energy, defined as an energy 

source that is not depleted when used, 

offers the greatest monthly savings 

at £28.33 on average a month. On 

the other hand, efficiency measures, 

including energy-saving lightbulbs and 

reduced-water showerheads, offer an 

average of £6.92 in savings each month. 

• Energy-saving light-bulbs: Changing 

the light bulbs around your house to 

energy-saving would cost you around 

£51.80 which could result in a financial 

saving of £27 a month. Generating 

significantly less carbon dioxide whilst 

last much longer than a traditional 

lightbulb this investment would pay for 

itself in a month. 

• Cavity wall 

insulation: With 

an installation fee 

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see a return on your investment after 

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only does cavity wall reduce the cost 

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reducing your carbon footprint. 

Other small changes include turning 

power off at the switch, adding 

insulation to windows, doors and the 

loft, reduce the temperature of your 

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reduce single use plastic 

Single use plastics contribute hugely 

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Greener Cleaning 

How often do we think of the chemicals 

we are using in the home? And worse, 

that end up in the water system. 

Green cleaners have a bit of a bad 

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products from Microbz might provide 

the answer - these clever cleaners are 

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positive microbes in your home, which 

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- this means they continue to clean 

the surface long after they’ve been 

applied. The 250ml concentrate bottle 

is extremely economical and makes 50, 

Clockwise from left. Capsulier Lite, 

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Scrubs, £5 for two, hauslife.co.uk; 

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500ml diluted spray bottles. See the 

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Quick Tips: 

• Shop locally and support local farmers 

where you can 

• Reusable everything - use reusable 

bags plus try to buy glass containers 

that can be refilled 

• Reduce household waste by using a 

compost bin 

• Unsubscribe to letters/catalogues you 

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• Dry laundry on a line 

• Use cloth instead of paper to clean 

your kitchen 

• Switch to cloth nappies – or at least 

combine with disposables (even one 

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disposables in the landfill annually) 

• Ditch cling film and plastic bags 

for vegetables and use breathable, 

reusable bags and beeswax food wraps 

• Walk and cycle where you can. If you 

use the car, try to reduce trips and 

avoid aggressive driving 


microbz - keeping you and your 

home healthy 

Health and wellbeing, whether that is our own or indeed that of the planet on 

which we live could not be higher on the agenda for 2020. We thought that now 

was the ideal time to showcase a local company with some great products, both 

for ourselves and for our homes…we spoke to Sue Allen of Microbz about some 

great little bugs! 

First of all, the science bit – what are microbes and what 

do they do? Microbes, also known as microorganisms, are 

fundamental to life. These invisible bacteria are the first form of 

life on earth and, over billions of years, they created the essential 

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Vital communities of trillions of microbes are everywhere, on 

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But over the last 70 years or so our increased use of chemicals 

and antibiotics has tipped the balance of life. Who hasn’t 

noticed more and more people being affected by allergies and 

autoimmune conditions, and the rise of superbugs? These are 

signs that the natural world is out of balance at a microbial level 

as well as in the visible environment. 

We are what we eat – and our gut health is vital to our overall 

health, tell us what Microbz can do to keep us fit to face 

2020? Your gut health depends on the diversity of microbes that 

make up your gut microbiome. Microbz’ liquid fermented brews 

deliver 14 strains of beneficial microbes – billions of good bugs 

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That’s important because around 80% of your immune cells live 

in your gut. And it turns out that 70% of serotonin, the ‘happy 

hormone’, is produced in the gut. Just keeping both those in 

tiptop balance will help us keep fit to face 2020. 

We may well be considering our holidays at this time of the 

year – how important is it that we make sure that our tums 

are travel ready and what can we do to boost our health and 

ensure that we feel our best? We meet unfamiliar microbes 

whenever and wherever we travel. Packing a bottle of Bio-Live 

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As well as your personal health care products you also 

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E-MOTIONAL 

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SMARTY PANTS is a clever little idea to assist 

in the sale of nearly new children’s clothes… 

Most of us have bought a pretty dress or smart shirt for 

a child to attend a wedding or family function and 

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worn once! 

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When is SMARTY PANTS open? 

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enquiries@thetoytree.co.uk 


THE NATURAL 

order 

Mike Gunton is a key producer within the BBC 

Natural History Unit, which is the world’s largest 

production unit. It is best known for its highly regarded 

nature documentaries, often presented by Sir David 

Attenborough. Here he talks to Sally Thomson about his 

early fascination for frogs, his delight in seeing young 

people taking an interest in the environment and the 

echoes of the natural world in our own day-to-day lives 

Whilst you may not recognise his face, 

you will certainly know Mike Gunton's 

extraordinary work. Mike has worked 

on all of the BBC Earth shows and in 

particular the Planet Earth II TV series and 

has had a long association with Sir David 

Attenborough. Mike will be appearing 

on the Planet Earth II tour along with Liz 

Bonnin, who is the host, and will offer 

some amazing insights into the footage 

the arenas will be watching. He is also 

involved in the Seven Worlds One Planet 

show on BBC1, which was launched 

October 27th. 

Where did your career start? When you 

left university at Cambridge, what was 

the next step? 

I did a doctorate in Zoology at 

Cambridge. I was quite interested in film 

making. There were grants that could be 

applied for, so while I was there I started 

making films. I actually made a film which 

I sold which was about Cambridge life. 

It’s one of those weird things, I ended 

up playing cricket with a Don, who said 

to me “What are you going to do when 

you leave college?”. I said “Well I’m very 

interested in film making and I would love 

to work at the BBC.” He said “Ah I know 

somebody at the BBC”. And it actually 

turned out it was somebody at the OU 

(Open University) who was an academic. 

When I enquired, I found out the BBC 

side wanted a researcher. 

It was all very fortunate timing. They 

offered me the job of researcher, which I 

did for about 6 months, then concluded 

my PHD, then returned to work for them 

for about 3 years, during which time the 

OU were really starting to look at crossing 

over with several other national television 

departments, so I actually ended up 

working on projects the Natural History 

and the Science department. 

I got to know people and the opportunity 

came up work with what we were being 

told was David Attenborough’s last 

series, The Trials of Life. I grabbed it with 

both hands and never looked back. 

If we look back to when you were 

13, your fascination with frogs 

subsequently lead you to taking 

photographs of them. That was your 

understanding then that we did not 

see things as well through our own 

eyes, but when you had a camera you 

were able to see and understand a 

little bit more about the creatures that 

you were taking photographs of. Was 

that the catalyst? 

I would love to say that it was a ‘ta da!’ 

moment, but no. Most people who are 

interested in animals were interested in 

lions and elephants and tigers and things 

like that. Of course I liked them too, but 

they didn’t really excite me. What excited 

me was the slightly weirder creatures, 

because you would have to take a 

slightly different perspective. 

With a lion you can stand back with a 

pair of binoculars and see one. But with 

these little tiny creatures you do have to 

think about how can I really get to see 

this. There was something about the 

combination of a bit of science, a bit of 

imagery, psychology but also the sense 

of mysteries that you can reveal by using 

something to draw back the curtain. And 

that really started I think when I came 

here, to The Natural History Unit. A lot 

of developments in wildlife film making 

happen in concert with technological 

changes. Life on Earth (1979) and 

Living Planet (1984) had been by David 

Attenborough and they had been real 

mould-breaking shows, and effectively 

defined every show that you now see. 

At that time we were all of a similar age, 

around our mid-twenties and all getting 

into the business of natural history film 

making, and there was a lot of innovative 

thinking; ‘How can we get cameras and 

lenses into positions to reveal different 

things about natural history?’. I had a 

couple of friends here who were really 

interested in ‘Macro Photography’, 

filming small things like little tiny frogs, 

and there were all sorts of unusual 

lenses being used. Suddenly, you were 

effectively creating a different filmic 

grammar because the way you move and 

position a camera had to be rethought; 

how you light it and tell the stories. 

One of the things I loved about this is 

that in some ways you could direct the 

stories more. When you are filming a 

lion hunt, you can’t really direct that, 

you just have to film what happens. 

But when you are telling the story of 

a female frog, who’s trick is that she 

carries her baby tadpole on her back 

and climbs to the top of a tree and looks 

for a bromeliad to put it on, that’s an 

extraordinary piece of evolution and 

behaviour and it’s so empathetic with 

people if you tell the story in a way 

that connects that empathy. Of course 


"we set out to connect 

people with the natural 

world...the viewer gets a 

sense of the extraordinary 

scale of this existence." 

Photograph by Elizabeth White 

Copyright BBC NHU 

you have to be careful to not go too 

soppy and anthropomorphic. But I’ve 

always defended anthropomorphism. 

Whenever people criticise, my reaction 

is ‘well I think you’re being rather 

anthropocentric!’. We can be a bit 

anthropocentric, in our thinking that we 

are so different. 

When watching a programme that you 

produce, it gets a bit fearful at times 

because you can see a creature being 

pursued. It can be difficult to watch! 

One of the things that’s very important 

about this is that there can be a danger 

of tripping into melodrama. Some of my 

colleagues and I have had arguments 

about this. The evolution of these new 

photography approaches that we were 

talking about is proximity. Trying to 

get the camera, and therefore you the 

audience, as close as we can physically 

but also emotionally to the action. And 

you cannot help but feel caught up at 

times. What was lovely about Planet 

Earth II and the technology that had 

been involved, was that we were able 

to bring that to a fine point. The snakes 

and iguanas sequence is a phenomenal 

example of that sense of proximity 

and viscerality, where you have people 

across the country hiding behind their 

sofas shouting ‘Run, baby, run!’. They 

are empathising with a creature that is a 

reptile and a tiny little thing. But if you get 

that sense of involvement then people are 

completely transfixed. 

These things feel like they have been 

big leaps, but in actual fact we’ve been 

doing it for a while, but the stars aligned 

with Planet Earth II and I think there was 

something in the air, some zeitgeist going 

on there and people wanted it. 2016 was 

quite a miserable year for a number of 

reasons, they were feeling at woe with the 

world, and something about Planet Earth 

II made them look up and look out and 

feel joyful. I think one of the things the 

press kept picking up on was that despite 

the intimacy and some of the terror, that 

at the end of it people overall felt joy. 

One of the things about this concert 

is that being on stage, the sense of 

joy that I felt, and that I felt back from 

the audience…I’d never experienced 

anything like it. Initially I thought I was 

going to be petrified, I was going to 

be standing on stage in front of 5,000 

people. But I wasn’t the slightest bit 

nervous. You could just sense a warmth 

from the audience. What the concert 

does is it actually amplifies another key 

thing that I think was unique about Planet 

Earth II, and that was that at the time 

everyone was saying that television as a 

media was falling away. People weren’t 

watching television, they were consuming 

media, as they say. Something about 

Planet Earth II got people flocking 

back to their television. They made an 

appointment to view at 8pm on a Sunday, 

and not only that but they did it as 

co-viewers. So families came together, 

football clubs…there was this incredible 

sense of we are all going to get together 

to watch this. And there was something 

about this group viewing that I think 

enhanced the experience of joy and that 

is why when you go to the concert you 

get that amplified! 

When people watch these programmes, 

what do you think it is about them that 

makes people behave differently? 

How long have you got?! There’s a 

conceptual answer and a practical one. 

The conceptual one is that we set out to 

connect people with the natural world 

and that’s what happened. They realised 

there was more to the world than their 

own lives. The viewer gets a sense of the 

extraordinary scale of this existence, but 

they also form empathetic connections; 

sometimes feeling that some of their 

troubles and woes can be absolved when 

watching the dynamics of their own lives 

being played back to them through the 

dynamics of animals. So I think there’s 

some catharsis there. But equally, there 

were a number of examples where after 

having seen a sequence in Planet Earth, 

there was a rush to digital media to find 

out more about some of the things they 

had seen – particularly in cases where 

there was some conservation spin on it. 

One of the things that was a real key 

moment in this series was the sudden 

magnetic attraction for young people. 

As a television producer I am constantly 

being asked "where are the 16-24 year 

olds?", the group that don’t watch 

television and certainly don’t watch BBC 

terrestrial television. Suddenly with Planet 

Earth II, they all wanted to watch these 

shows. That’s incredibly important to 

us, as they are the next generation. But 

also, their perspective on the planet I 

so different from my generation. What’s 

interesting with the Planet Earth II concert 

is that when the lights went up, I looked 

out and 50% of the audience were 

people in that group. They weren’t just 

kids being brought along by Grandmas 

and mums, they were cool hipsters from 

as far as the eye could see! 

Whether you're a hipster, a grandma, 

or somewhere in between, you can find 

out more information on the concert 

series by visiting planetearth2live.uk 


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NOTES 

from the pass 

Michael Caines MBE, chef/patron of Lympstone 

Manor, is one of Britain’s most decorated and 

well-known chefs. Sally Thomson caught up with 

him to discuss his ventures in wine, his passion 

for teaching and his need for speed... 

When we last met you were at 

Kentisbury Grange, and I note that you 

received some awards for that? 

Yes, the Small Hotel of the Year and 

Restaurant of the Year. It’s great! 

Kentisbury Grange is owned by my old 

school friend Mark Cushway. Mark asked 

me to get involved and help him with 

his project, which I did, and it’s great to 

see that over the years we’ve managed 

to acquire many awards which is a 

tribute to the team. The chef there at the 

moment is James Checkley and he is 

doing a great job, and we just continue 

to advance and improve. There are 

challenges being in North Devon that are 

different to being located in South Devon, 

unfortunately places in North Devon can 

get overlooked on the culinary map, so 

it’s nice to be able to contribute to the 

North Devon economy by creating a 

lovely venue, and to see it do well. 

When we last spoke you mentioned that 

your pride and joy was Lympstone Manor. 

You are now nearly into its third year… 

It’s incredible to think that when we last 

met, it was just in its infancy. We won a 

Michelin Star within six months, and we 

are very pleased to announce that we 

have been given five rosettes this year, 

so it is great progress and we just look to 

the Michelin gods that we might advance 

to two! But the main thing is that since 

we spoke we planted a vineyard and the 

whole property has settled and matured. 

It really is the best of me and everything 

that I have achieved in my career 

combined into this wonderful place. 

Do you draw back the curtains and pinch 

yourself to remember that it’s yours? 

Every day! When I walk into that 

"Lympstone Manor 

really is the best of 

me, and everything 

that I have achieved in 

my career combined 

into this wonderful 

place." 

property and I look 

at that view…I do pinch myself! But 

I also recognise that it has been a 

huge amount of hard work and it still 

continues to take a lot of commitment. 

Sally: So about your vineyard! The 

harvest in 2018 was good wasn’t it? 

Michael: The harvest in the UK in 2018 

was brilliant, it was the best harvests in 

the history of English wine making, it’s 

been incredible. We planted our vineyard 

in 2018, and in its second year it will 

produce grapes that we can harvest 

(next year), those grapes will then be 

vinified and we will be releasing our first 

wine in 2024. So it takes three years for 

the vineyard to establish. We are now in 

our second year. We planted, in eleven 

acres, 17,500 vines, of which 50% 

are Pinot Noir, 20% Meunier and 30% 

are Chardonnay. They are the classic 

champagne varietals, so we are looking 

forward to producing some wonderful 

English sparkling wine. Hopefully they will 

have their own story to tell, alongside the 

story of Lympstone Manor. 

I’ve been watching Jason Atherton 

in The Chef’s Brigade, and what I 

hadn’t really realised is the interaction 

between each person in the kitchen 

and how it can affect the cuisine. I 

work in an office, and each person 

does their own thing, whereas in a 

kitchen, the relationship between each 

person is quite a complex one! 

In all honesty it’s not that different! Similar 

to what you described with your office, 

everyone has different disciplines. The 

editor brings into the magazine all those 

different skills that contribute into a great 

publication. In a kitchen it is similar, it’s 

like an orchestra, and we conduct that 

orchestra, but we edit it and so we are 

the curators but it requires an individual 

team working alongside each other and 

communicating. Our deadlines however 

are very immediate! It requires massive 

amounts of effort and discipline, and 

that discipline is not self-indulgent, 

it’s selfless, as it is a requirement. It is 

a very tough environment. We are all 

interconnected and intertwined, but it’s 

also like the analogy of a swan, where on 

the surface to the customer we appear 

very calm, but underneath there’s two 

legs paddling! But we’ve got more than 

two legs on the team, and those legs are 

components, all working together. It’s 

fascinating and it’s a good insight into 

what goes on behind the scenes. 


On a completely different note, did 

you go to Silverstone this year? If so, 

how many Grand Prix’s did you get to 

attend? 

I did go this year, it was great! I’ve seen 

four this year, sometimes it’s five. But I 

did three Europeans and one fly-away, 

and so we send a chef out to all the 

Europeans to support ROKiT Williams 

Racing, and I go to Monaco, British, 

Monza and America. Sometimes I do Abu 

Dhabi and I might try and do Singapore 

next year. I do as many or as few as I 

want, but no less than three. 

What’s your favourite? 

Monaco is amazing but the racing is 

dull. Monza is the fastest track. Italy, I 

love Italy. But I love Silverstone for pure 

racing, it’s a great track. It’s a fascinating 

sport, and I think as much as we criticise 

it, one minute you can have a dull race 

and the next minute you can have the 

most exciting race. 

I know you are very involved with 

charities, and you have the Michael 

Caines Academy at Exeter College? 

It’s probably more of an educational 

programme at Exeter College where we 

take sixteen students through two years 

of training and they then graduate as 

a Michael Caines Academy student. In 

that time they have a slightly shortened 

curriculum where they spend six weeks 

in work experience and they have do 

one ‘experience day’ a week, which are 

cooking demonstrations, visits to the 

industry etc. After these two years when 

they graduate they are very sought after, 

because of the experience they have 

gained. So the academy is very important 

and it’s doing a great job supplying the 

industry with some much needed talent. 

They are all like-minded and are fabulous 

kids, and now in its eighth year we’ve had 

sixty cohorts going through, and we will 

continue to develop. We might increase 

the cohort, and we might expand the 

academy within other colleges. But in 

terms of the charity work I do, I work with 


seven different charities. I’m patron of 

Families for Children which is an adoption 

charity, I’m the president of the wonderful 

charity Farms for City Children, I’m on the 

board for the Exeter Chiefs Foundation, 

which is the charity for the Exeter Rugby 

team which do a fantastic job. I’m also 

an ambassador and advisor to the board 

of the Calvert Trust, and I also work 

alongside Damon Hill’s Charity who 

support people with Down’s Syndrome. 

So it’s lots of different charities! But it 

increases public awareness, and I’m 

particularly proud to have been made 

a deputy lieutenant to the lieutenant of 

Devon, because through this position 

I am able to work on improving the 

network of charities in Devon, and get 

them working together. 

In terms of the success of the Exeter 

Chiefs, and the work that they do – we 

support seventeen charities every 

year, but alongside that we donate 

undesignated funds to a huge amount of 

different charities. What we are seeing 

is a way in which we can help charities 

with capital projects, and last year we 

got together with the Property Ball. 

They raised £55,000 last year towards 

charities, and we chose to match fund 

"If you are a public 

figure...then I 

think you have a 

duty of care to do 

something and 

put back in the 

community" 

that, and so between the two charities 

we raised £110,000 to refit Devon 

Hospice in Exeter, which was a wellworthy 

cause and an incredible thing 

to do. But it’s things like that, that are 

about the community, that inspire you 

to get involved. If you are a public figure 

or you are someone who is perceived 

to be a celebrity or you are successful 

then I think you have a duty of care 

to do something and put back in the 

community. Not everybody does it but I 

think it is important. 

You can find out more about Michael 

Caines at michaelcaines.com 

and Lympstone Manor at 

lympstonemanor.co.uk

TIME TO 

veg out 

Prep 

time: 5 minutes 

Cooking time: 30 minutes 

Serves: 2-4 

This recipe serves two as a 

main dish and needs some 

preparation the day before. 

with C hipotle Mayonnaise 

Fry each piece of chicken for about 3-4 

minutes until golden brown. Remove 

from the fryer and leave on a rack to 

cool. 

In a large mixing bowl place the 

buttermilk, egg, garam masala and For the chicken seasoning, combine 

smoked paprika and whisk well to the garam masala and salt together. 

ALL IN ONE veg lasagne 

incorporate all the ingredients together. 

Turn up the temperature of your fryer 

Place your chicken Prep time: thigh 5 pieces minutes into 

the buttermilk Cooking mixture time: until well 30 minutes coated. 

Cover the bowl Serves: with cling 2-4 film and 

place in the fridge to marinate for 24 

to 190°C Heat and the re-fry oil in the a large chicken pieces 

until dark ovenproof golden frying and very pan crispy. or 

shallow casserole dish over 

Ensure a medium-high each piece is cooked heat. Fry through. the 

hours. INGREDIENTS 

1 tbsp olive oil 

Place soffritto the chicken for 7 on minutes, a paper stirring towel 

to soak regularly. up any excess oil and 

Mix together the 200g plain pack flour, chilled paprika, Cooks’ 

onion powder, Ingredients garlic powder, Soffritto garam 

masala, cornflakes 500g carton and feuille Italian de passata brick. 

with chopped basil 

season with a dusting of the chicken 

seasoning. Tip the passata, then fill 

the carton with water and add 

For the to chipotle the pan. mayonnaise, Simmer for 10 combine 

Remove the bowl 6 fresh of chicken lasagne from sheets, the halved all ingredients minutes, together then stir in a the large pasta bowl 

fridge, and one lengthways by one place each and whisk strips well. and Put mince; the simmer fridge for and 

piece of chicken 350g thigh pack into chilled the flour Quorn Mince chill until another ready 5 to minutes. serve alongside the 

and spice mix, 125g making pack sure mozzarella, you get drained chicken. 

a good amount and of torn crumb over the 

chicken pieces. Handful basil leaves 

Scatter the torn mozzarella 

Finish over with the top fresh and zest pop of under lemon 

and lime the and grill for serve 5 minutes. with slices Grind of 

Preheat a deep METHOD fat fryer or oil in a 

saucepan to 175°C. Preheat the grill to high. 

green over jalapeño some and black plenty pepper of chipotle and 

mayonnaise. scatter over the basil to serve. 


BUTTERNUT 

SQUASH 

and goats cheese 

salad 

Prep time: 15 minutes 

Cook time: 30 minutes 

Serves: 4 

INGREDIENTS 

1 essential Waitrose Butternut 

Squash, halved, deseeded and 

cut into 1cm slices (about 1kg 

prepared weight) 


Pinch chilli flakes 

40g pecans 

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

½ lemon, zest and juice 

2 x 140g packs red chicory, leaves 

separated 

2 tbsp dried cranberries 

75g essential Waitrose English 

Goats’ Cheese 

METHOD 

Preheat the oven to 220˚C, gas 

mark 7. Toss the squash slices 

with the 1 tbsp olive oil and 

spread out on a large baking tray. 

Sprinkle with the chilli flakes, 

season and roast for 25-30 

minutes, turning halfway, until 

golden in places. Put the pecans 

on a separate baking tray and add 

to the oven for the final 5 minutes 

of roasting. 

For the dressing, whisk together 

the extra virgin olive oil, lemon 

zest and juice. 

Arrange the roasted squash (it can 

be hot from the oven or cooled 

to room temperature) and sliced 

chicory leaves on individual plates 

or a large serving plate. Scatter 

over the cranberries and toasted 

pecans, dot over the goats’ 

cheese, then spoon over the 

dressing. Grind over some black 

pepper and serve immediately. 

COOK’S TIP 

For extra sweetness, try adding 

some finely sliced apple or pear in 

place of the cranberries. 


NAAN FLATBREADS 

with spinach and caramelised onion 

Prep time:15 minutes 

Cook time:20 minutes 

Serves: 2 

INGREDIENTS 

1½ tbsp vegetable oil 

1 onion, halved and finely sliced 

450g pack spinach 

1 tsp cumin seeds 

½ tsp black onion seeds 

Pinch of dried chilli flakes 

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced 

2 The Spice Tailor Plain Naans 

1 tsp Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients Tamarind Paste 

2 tbsp natural yogurt 

Large handful pomegranate seeds 

METHOD 

Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Put 1 tbsp oil in a large 

frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the onion with a pinch 

of salt, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes, until deep golden. Drain 

on kitchen paper. 

Meanwhile, put the spinach in a large colander and pour over 

just-boiled water from the kettle to wilt (you may need to do 

this in 2 batches). Rinse under the cold tap, then squeeze out 

as much excess water as possible. Drain thoroughly on kitchen 

paper. 

Add the remaining ½ tbsp oil to the frying pan and toss in the 

spices and garlic. Fry for 1 minute until fragrant, then add the 

spinach plus a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until 

any excess water has evaporated. 

Splash the naans with a little cold water and bake in the oven 

for 3-4 minutes. Remove and top each with the spinach, onion, 

tamarind paste, a drizzle of yogurt, and the pomegranate seeds. 

BAKED PEAR, ALMOND 

& OAT SQUARES 

Prep time:15 minutes, plus cooling 

Cook time:45 minutes 

Makes: 16 

INGREDIENTS 

250g porridge oats 

100g ground almonds 

1½ tsp baking powder 

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

¼ tsp fine salt 

50g soft dried apricots, roughly chopped 

350ml Alpro Oat Unsweetened drink 

1 British Blacktail Free Range Egg, beaten 

2 ripe bananas, mashed 

3 tbsp maple syrup 

¼ tsp almond extract 

2 conference pears 

METHOD 

Preheat the oven to 200˚C, gas mark 6. Line a 21cm square 

cake tin with parchment. Mix the oats, ground almonds, baking 

powder, cinnamon, salt and apricots in a large mixing bowl. In a 

jug, whisk together the Alpro oat drink, egg, mashed bananas, 

maple syrup and almond extract. 

Pour the oat drink mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Peel, 

halve and core both pears. Cut 1 pear into 1cm dice and stir 

through the mixture. Tip the mixture into the cake tin, smoothing 

the top. 

Slice the other pear and scatter over the top. Bake for 45 

minutes, then cool completely before cutting into squares. 


EAT SHOOTS AND LEAVES 

Fantastic vegan recipes for a successful Veganuary from cookwithmands.com 

WARM CRISPY 

TOFU SALAD 

with orange and lime dressing 

SERVES 2 

INGREDIENTS 

lime wedges 

2 spring onions 

1 pack High protein pea noodles 

1 pack Edamame and pea stir fry 

1 pack Lime and orange dressing 

2 tsp maple syrup 

1 tbsp soy sauce 

1 tsp black peppercorns 

1 red chilli 

3 garlic cloves 

15g ginger 

2 tsp sesame oil 


1 tbsp cornflour 

200g firm tofu 

PREPARATION 

Thinly slice the spring onions. Lightly 

crush the black peppercorns. Thinly 

slice and remove seeds if you prefer 

less heat from the red chillis. Crush the 

garlic cloves. Crush the ginger. Drain, 

pat dry and cut into approx. 2cm cubes 

the firm tofu. 

METHOD 

In a bowl, toss the tofu in the cornflour 

ensuring it is well coated. Heat the 

olive oil in a wide-based pan or wok on 

a medium-high heat. Once hot, cook 

the tofu until golden brown and crispy, 

around 5 – 7 mins. Drain on kitchen paper 

and sprinkle with salt. 

Heat the sesame oil in the same pan on a 

low heat. Add the ginger, garlic and chilli 

and cook until soft, around 6 – 8 mins. 

Stir frequently. 

Add the peppercorns, soy sauce and 

maple syrup. Cook for another 2 mins on 

a low heat. Stir the tofu back into the pan 

with the edamame and pea stir fry mix. 

Cook for 3 mins and season to taste.Heat 

the noodles according to the back of pack 

instructions and place in a large bowl with 

the warm stir fry mix and dress with the 

lime and orange dressing. Serve the tofu 

on the noodle salad sprinkled with the 

spring onions. Garnish with lime wedges. 

PUMPKIN TEMPURA 

SERVES 4 

INGREDIENTS 

For the dip - 50g soy sauce 

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar 

1 garlic clove 

1cm piece of ginger 

1 small red chilli 

For the tempura - 1 litre vegetable oil 

1 pumpkin (approximately 1kg in weight) 

150g self-raising flour 

1.5 tbsp cornflour 

1.5 tsp baking powder 

225ml cold sparkling water 

PREPARATION 

Peel and crush the garlic cloves. Peel and 

finely grate the piece of ginger. Deseed 

and finely dice the red chillis. Peel and 

remove the seeds of the pumpkin. Finely 

chop 4 of the sage leaves. 

METHOD 

Make the dip by combining all the 

ingredients in a small bowl, and set aside. 

Cut the pumpkin in half lengthways and 

cut into slices approximately 2cm wide. 

Heat the oil in a deep-sided, heavy-based 

pan until hot. Make the batter. In a bowl, 

combine the flour, cornflour, baking 

powder, ½ tsp salt and chopped sage. 

Slowly whisk in the cold sparkling water 

until the batter has the consistency of 

single cream – don’t worry about any 

small lumps, they will disappear. 

Test if the oil is the right temperature by 

dropping a teaspoon of batter into the 

pan – if it cooks quickly, the oil is ready. 

Dip the pumpkin slices into the batter 

and carefully add to the pan. Cook in 

the hot oil, in batches of 5-6 at a time, 

for 4 minutes or until golden and cooked 

through. Remove with a slotted spoon 

and drain on kitchen paper. Serve 

immediately with the soy dip. 

VEGAN PAVLOVA 

SERVES 6 

INGREDIENTS 

300g blackberries 

1 tbsp icing sugar 

150ml liquid from 400g tin of chickpeas 

0.25 tsp xanthan gum 

0.25 tsp cream of tartar 

225g caster sugar 

250g fresh coconut cream (from chilled 

aisle) 

1 handful basil leaves 

METHOD 

Heat the oven to 120°C/ 100°C fan/gas 

½. In a food processor, blitz 150g of the 

blackberries with the icing sugar. Sieve 

and set aside. 

Whisk the chickpea liquid, xanthan gum 

and cream of tartar for 2 mins, until fluffy. 

Whisk in the caster sugar, 1-2 tbsp at 

a time. Fold in 2 tbsp of the blackberry 

coulis. 

Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. 

Spread half the mix in a circle on one. 

Pipe mini meringues on the other. 

Bake the large meringue for 3 hours 

and the small ones for 1½ hours. Turn 

off heat, and leave to cool in the oven 

completely. Spread the cream over the 

meringue base. 

Top with blackberries, mini meringues, 

icing sugar, coulis and basil. 


01249 812488 

Lansdowne Strand, Calne 

EAT | DRINK | STAY 

The perfect setting for every occasion 


Ramble 

and a 

ROAST 

If the Christmas sofa surf has left you in 

need of some exercise, we have a great idea. 

Enjoy the wonderful countryside we live in 

and around - and then reward yourself with a 

great lunch at one of our six of the best……. 

There can be few lovelier places in the county to ramble that the 

Kennet Valley. The valley sides slope down to the river Kennet 

making it the ideal place to enjoy some great views, some really 

good wildlife and an ancient environment including a Saxon 

settlement at Ramsbury itself – the Saxons knew a good site 

when they saw one and if The Bell at Ramsbury had been 

around at the time, I am sure it would have been full of happy 

Saxons enjoying a fabulous Sunday lunch! 

If donning your boots and heading out into the country isn’t 

your bag, then how about staying local with some retail therapy 

and a delicious lunch at Hilliers. Ideally situated in the middle 

of the town and a great place to meet chums Hilliers serves a 

menu of signature small plates from dawn ‘til dusk, Hilliers offers 

affordable luxury for everyone. 

What could be better than a stroll through the delightful National 

Trust village of Lacock, in the footsteps of all of those period 

dramas – and Harry Potter, and then a wonderful lunch at The 

Sign of the Angel. You could visit the Abbey, take a turn around 

the Fox Talbot Museum or stroll in the surrounding countryside 

and then be assured of great food and a cosy spot at this 

charming 15th century coaching in. 

There can be few more iconic sites to take a Sunday walk around 

than the Caen Hill Flight in Devizes. With a very convenient 

car park you can stroll from top to bottom of the flight of locks, 

looking out for kingfishers and swans on your way and the views 

from the top are stunning – and then pop down the road to the 

George and Dragon for a fabulous lunch. 

Hodson is an unspoilt hamlet in a small valley in the parish of 

Chiseldon. Ideal for a short stroll or a longer walk the hamlet 

is close to Chiseldon village and is also close to the Ridgeway 

which is a simply wonderful way to explore history and enjoy the 

best of what Wiltshire has to offer. Having worked your boots 

you can then give them a rest while you enjoy a great lunch at 

The Calley Arms. 

A friendly family run pub, the Woodbridge Inn is set in the heart 

of the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, serving good food, real cask ales 

and service with a smile. It is easily reached by car, bus, cycle 

and even foot for those seasoned ramblers. located near many 

historical sites including the stone circle at Avebury, Stonehenge, 

the White Horse and many other it is the perfect end to a great 

walk. 

Families are welcome and that includes your pet pooch (there are 

4 resident doggies – senior resident pooch Dennis is becoming 

famous for his cuddles with the locals) – so add us to your dog 

friendly places to stay list! 

The Calley Arms 

The George & Dragon is a pub & restaurant with 

accommodation in Rowde, Devizes. Traditionally a 

sixteenth century coaching inn, it combines modern 

day style with bundles of country character. 

Our aim is to offer 

that little bit extra for 

our guests... gentle, 

professional hospitality 

at affordable prices. 

Whether it’s a relaxing 

pint in front of the fire, 

a treat in the restaurant, 

a night away from it all 

or a bottle of Rosé in 

the garden, The George 

& Dragon is the perfect 

choice. 

01380 723053 

www.thegeorgeanddragonrowde.co.uk 

When you think of a 

great local country pub 

you think of great food, a 

great location and a great 

welcome…. 

Tick all those boxes as Paul and Suzanna welcome you 

to the Calley Arms. Situated in the picturesque village 

of Hodson they offer home cooked food in a relaxed 

atmosphere with a wide selection of real ales and wines, so 

after a brisk walk or a relaxing stroll pop in and say hello to 

great food in great company. 

Call now to book 

01793 740802 

Broome Manor Lane, Hodson, Swindon SN4 0QG 


National award winning food in a relaxed, cosy 

Historic Coaching Inn 

www.signoftheangel.co.uk 


BUSINESS TO BUSINESS 

LET’S CRACK ON WITH 2020! 

With the start of the New Year we are all thinking about our 

businesses going forward and how we can ensure they thrive and 

prosper. One of the most important things is how and where we get 

the things we need to create the right environment to flourish - and 

we think that using local suppliers is key to that. 

Not only are you supporting other business who work in your area, 

they also know the area, the carbon footprint for any supplies is 

much smaller - and there is a real person at the end of the phone 

who knows where you are doing business and therefore the 

conditions you are both working in. 

If you want to create a good local ‘footprint’ then brand awareness 

is key - we trust what we see and what we feel familiar with and so, 

for example, having a logo that is well know and well thought of is a 

great start. Using a local designer, a local printer, a local company to 

brand workwear, vehicles etc. a local company to build your website 

- and, of course, a great local magazine to advertise in! 

Training needs, recruitment needs, administrative needs, all of these 

things can be sourced locally and there are lots of groups who meet 

on a regular basis to discuss and share local business news – the 

Chambers of Commerce and other business groups are a wonderful 

source of knowledge and information and this sort of networking 

really is time well spent - and if you are lucky you get a great 

breakfast too! 

Innovation at a local level is another key factor – what works in 

one area may be totally unsuited to another and Councils too pay 

a key part in how we do business. The thorny subject of Business 

Rates is sure to run and run and the problem of diminishing high 

street footfalls is another obstacle - but with great local initiative and 

innovation and support from our local organisations, local businesses 

will thrive and flourish - so here’s to a booming business 2020! 

So think local, buy local and celebrate local 

for 2020 

“The secret of success is to do the common thing 

uncommonly well.” 

John D. Rockefeller Jr. 

ask ams 


At AMS we help our clients in a down to 

earth and practical way - avoiding the 

mysteries of accountancy jargon. Our 

services and prices are listed on our website 

and we will always provide a written quote 

after meeting with you... 

For years we have published press articles called ‘Ask AMS’ 

answering questions from small businesses and in 2015 we had 

the idea that videos might be even more useful. We now have 

100+ on YouTube (search for AMS Accountancy Swindon). 

Our business was formed in 1985 and we became a member of 

the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW) in 2007. We serve 

Small Businesses and Freelancers and have a separate monthly 

service for our many Contractor clients. 

We have a team of fourteen people – divided into two 

departments, so you can call your support team and get an 

immediate response from someone you know - who knows your 

business. We are experts in accountancy matters and in tax 

relating to small businesses from setting up a new business, 

to minimising taxes, to providing training for Cloud Accounting 

software – all of which are also covered in our videos. 

To find out more, please look at our website, and if you would like 

to talk, simply call us for a conversation without any pressure! 

Best wishes from all at AMS Accountancy Ltd. 

01793 818400 

AMS Accountancy Ltd, Swindon SN5 7XF 



Marlborough 

Chamber offers new 

opportunities for 2020 

Marlborough Chamber of Commerce steps into 

2020 with a new local membership rate, new 

opportunities for members of the business 

community to network, and exciting events in 

interesting locations... 

Our new annual membership rate has been set at an 

affordable £50 + VAT to encourage businesses large and small, 

established or just starting out, to join us. There will be plenty of 

opportunities for networking throughout the year: our monthly 

business breakfasts give business owners and managers the 

chance to meet, talk, and forge relationships, and to hear from 

experts from the local business world. 

We realise that early starts aren’t for everyone, so we’ll be 

rolling out a series of lunch and evening meetings workshops 

and seminars – your chance to pick up tips from local business 

experts – as well as expo-style events. As a member, you’ll 

have the chance to present at one of our networking events, 

workshops, or seminars – building your professional reputation in 

the local business community. 

We’re also launching a new member-to-member discount 

scheme. As a member, you’ll be able to benefit from a wide 

range of discounted goods and services from local businesses 

you can trust. 

Marlborough Chamber of Commerce exists to build a 

community of business people offering each other support and 

encouragement. Do pop along to one of our events for a noobligation 

look at what we’re about. 

Insuring you in all areas of life 

Independent Insurance Brokers 

HOME INSURANCE | CAR INSURANCE 

VAN INSURANCE | TRAVEL INSURANCE 

LIABILITY INSURANCE | BUSINESS INSURANCE 

01793 850 441 

www.alliedwessex.co.uk 

Call us for your 

quote now 


Town & Country - Contemporary 

Shaker shown in Bridgwater 

Prosecco and Dark Sage 

www.mereway.co.uk/kitchen/ 

bridgwater-prosecco-dark-sage/ 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint 

Splodge Duck Egg Blue 

Portrait 

www.anniesloan.com 

Cozy Living Mathea Throw 

in Army Green £79 

www.cuckooland.com 

Pale Blue Ceramic 

Round Vase 

£35 

www.shimu.co.uk 

Woven Rattan Shade Natural 

£150 

www.coxandcox.co.uk 

Palm Set of 2 Plant Pots £25 

www.made.com 

Kidman 

www.vgnewtrend.it 

Dulux Muted Sage 

2.5L = £27.56 

dulux.co.uk/en/products 

TRANQUIL DAWN 

Emerging into 2020, Tranquil Dawn is this years 

colour of choice. Inspired by the morning sky 

this cool tonal green is the perfect pair for an 

increasingly hectic modern society. Pair this with 

a jewel like olive green or pale neutral tones to 

make the ideal colour palate. 

Aliona Cushion, Green 

£65 

www.habitat.co.uk 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint 

Splodge Svenska Blue Portrait 

www.anniesloan.com 

Nikki Wardrobe with 

Storage Drawer in Army 

Green by Woood £459 


Bergamo Bed 

£349.99 

www.furniturechoice.co.uk 

Broste Copenhagen Wind 

Footstool, Grape Leaf 

£540 


Pair of Leon Dining Chairs in 

Green £199 



throughout January. 

• Up to 60% off 

furniture. 

• Up to 20% off fabric 

and wallpaper to 

order. 

• All stock fabrics at 

least 20% off. 

• Accessories, 

bedding, gifts: 20% 

off. 

Fabric | Wallpaper | Poles| Beds | Bedding | Flooring | Furniture etc. 

www.dandrfurnishers.co.uk | sales@dandrfurnishers.co.uk |T. 01672 513491/2 

The Parade | Marlborough | SN8 1NE 

Open: Monday – Friday 8:15am – 5:00pm (Closed weekends) 


THE HOMEBUYER'S 

Thinking about moving or buying your first home? Read on... 

If you are beginning the process of buying 

your first home, selling to buy a bigger 

property or even downsizing once the 

kids have flown the nest, you may find 

that the property market is an unknown 

entity, full of potential pitfalls, doubts 

and unexpected costs. Couple that with 

the looming uncertainty of BREXIT, and 

you have a complicated set of hoops to 

jump through. In this guide, we aim to 

demystify homebuying and give useful 

advice for each stage of the process. 

BREXIT BLUES? 

UK house price growth remains subdued 

as uncertainty about the direction and 

shape of Brexit continues to weigh on the 

market. 

The latest figures from Nationwide show 

UK house prices rose by 0.4% on the year, 

the 11th month in a row that annual price 

growth remained below 1%. 

City A.M. says the latest modest rises 

“underline concerns over a slowdown 

in activity in the UK’s housing market, 

particularly in London and the South, 

despite a recent improvement in earnings 

and employment”. 

“It’s hard to see the market emerging from 

this sub-one per cent annual growth rut 

until there is clarity on Brexit,” said David 

Westgate, chief executive of Andrews 

Property group, adding “the sheer level of 

political uncertainty has left the property 

market in a protracted limbo”. 

Which? magazine says: “Whether you’re 

a staunch remainer or avid Brexiteer, 

there’s no denying that the uncertainty 

around when the UK will leave the EU, and 

the terms under which it may happen, is 

causing property market jitters.” 

What has the impact of Brexit been so far? 

“The economic uncertainty caused by 


Brexit has undoubtedly affected the 

market, with house price growth slowing 

year-on-year and the number of sales 

taking a dramatic dip in recent months,” 

says Which?. 

Nationwide’s chief economist Robert 

Gardner said this week that average 

prices rose by £800 over the last 12 

months, a sharp slowing compared with 

the year to October 2016, just after the 

Brexit referendum, when prices jumped 

by £9,100. 

Data released by Rightmove earlier this 

month found that the price of property 

coming to market has endured its weakest 

month-on-month rise at this time of year in 

over a decade. 

Prospective home buyers have been 

undeterred by the approaching Brexit 

deadline, while sellers have been put off 

by ongoing uncertainty over UK house 

prices, according to the real estate 

platform. 

While the latest Brexit extension has 

pushed back the imminent threat of a nodeal 

Brexit, investors and market experts 

have expressed concern about the 

potential consequences given it remains 

the default position if an agreement 

cannot be ratified by Parliament by 31 

January 2020. 

Information from theweek.co.uk 

FIRST-TIME BUYERS 

So, you’re about to make the biggest 

investment of your life so far. Scary, right? 

There’s a lot to think about, and a lot of 

costs you will not have even considered 

until the process has started. Your 

mortgage is the first thing you should 

think about, because until you have your 

Decision in Principle, you will not know 

what you can afford to buy. By going to 

an independent mortgage advisor, you 

will have the choice of many different 

banks and building societies, so you 

can assess options like the term of your 

mortgage, fixing interest rates and any 

cash back offered. 

Viewing Houses 

This is probably the most fun bit of 

the process, because you get to know 

your tastes and can have a look around 

some lovely properties in the process. 

Rightmove is a great resource, as is 

Zoopla for comparing prices in an area. 

As well as relying on these sites, it is 

vital that you make yourself known to 

lots of different local agents. Let them 

know in as much detail as possible what 

requirements you have (location, number 

of bedrooms, garden, garage etc) and 

your upper price limit. A good agent will 

let you know about properties about to 

come to the market, helping you get a 

head start on other buyers. 

Viewing Tip - When viewing houses, 

try to take some pictures (with the estate 

agent’s permission) on your phone as 

an aide memoir and if you have furniture 

from renting to fit in, take a tape measure 

and see if it would fit in the space. 

CONVEYANCING 

So, once you’ve found the property you 

want, you will need to instruct a solicitor 

to do the conveyancing for you. Before 

deciding on one, we recommend emailing 

or calling around for some quotes to 

make sure you get a competitive rate.

GUIDE 

CHARTERED SURVEY 

Unless the property you are buying is less 

than 10 years old, it really does make good 

sense to have a survey. Most surveyors 

offer a choice between a RICS Homebuyer 

Report or a Building Survey. Send over 

the property details you have and they 

will help you decide on the best survey for 

peace of mind. Once again, it does pay to 

enquire with a few different firms to keep 

prices competitive and to find the right 

surveyor for the type of property you buy. 

Surveying Tip - If you are buying a 

flat, it can be difficult to know whether 

you need to have a full building survey 

(formerly called a structural survey). If 

you are buying a flat in a listed or older 

building, talk to your surveyor about 

whether they can offer a special package 

for you. 

SELLING 

Over the past few years, the property 

landscape really has become a seller’s 

market. With a high demand for property, 

estate agents are having to be creative 

in the way they compete for instructions. 

This is great news if you are selling, as 

you can ask them to be competitive in the 

rates they offer. 

Surveying Tips - It is likely that you 

will need to provide certificates or 

documentation of any major work you 

have had done on your home in the last 

10 years, primarily electrics. De-clutter 

before the estate agent comes to take 

photos. Your home needs to be a blank 

canvas, so the potential buyer can imagine 

their possessions there, without yours 

dominating their vision. 

MOVING 

So, you’ve accumulated a lot of stuff eh? 

Here are our top tips to make moving easier: 

• Start packing the areas of your 

home that you use the least. Pack 

essentials last. 

• At least 8 weeks before the date, 

notify change of address for any 

subscriptions. 

• Pack early if you are using the 

services of a moving company. Also 

be sure to label clearly and keep 

heavy boxes double taped. 

• Recycle anything you don’t love 

anymore. Start this process early, 

using a skip for unsellable items and 

send other bits to the charity shop. 

Removals companies sometimes 

charge by volume, so reducing the 

amount you take with you cuts costs. 

Help to Buy? 

The Help to Buy scheme offers an equity 

loan where the government lends firsttime 

buyers and existing homeowners 

money to buy a newly-built home. 

The purchase price must be no more 

than £600,000. Under this scheme, you 

can borrow 20% of the purchase price 

interest-free for the first five years as 

long as you have at least a 5% deposit. 

If you live in London, you can borrow up 

to 40% of the purchase price. 

The Government has confirmed it will 

extend its Help to Buy equity loan 

scheme from 2021 to 2023. However, this 

extension will be restricted to first-time 

buyers purchasing newly built homes. 

From 2021, there will also be new 

regional price caps which could reduce 

the maximum value of homes that can be 

bought through the Equity Loan Scheme. 

Help to Buy: Equity loans 

How they work 

• You need at least 5% of the sale 

price of your new-build flat or 

house as a deposit. 

• The government lends you up to 

20%, or 40% if you live in London, 

of the sale price. 

• You borrow the rest (up to 75%, or 

55% if you live in London) from a 

mortgage lender, on a repayment 

basis. 

• The equity loan must be repaid 

after 25 years, or earlier if you sell 

your home. 

• You must repay the same 

percentage of the proceeds of the 

sale as the initial equity loan (i.e. 

if you received an equity loan for 

20% of the purchase price of your 

home, you must repay 20% of the 

proceeds of the future sale). 

• You don’t pay any interest or fees 

on the government’s equity loan for 

the first five years. In the sixth year, 

you’ll be charged 1.75%. 

• After then, the fee rises by inflation 

based on the Retail Prices Index 

(RPI) plus 1% each year. 

• RPI figures are put together by the 

Office for National Statistics. 

Help to Buy: Shared 

Ownership 

If you can’t quite afford the mortgage on 

100% of a home, Help to Buy: Shared 

Ownership offers you the chance to buy 

a share of your home (between 25% and 

75% of the home’s value) and pay rent 

on the remaining share. Later on, you 

could buy bigger shares when you can 

afford to. 

You could buy a home through Help to 

Buy: Shared Ownership in England if: 

• Your household earns £80,000 a 

year or less outside London, or 

your household earns £90,000 a 

year or less in London 

• You are a first-time buyer, you used 

to own a home but can’t afford 

to buy one now or are an existing 

shared owner looking to move. 

With Help to Buy: Shared Ownership you 

can buy a newly built home or an existing 

one through resale programmes from 

housing associations. You’ll need to take 

out a mortgage to pay for your share of 

the home’s purchase price, or fund this 

through your savings. Shared Ownership 

properties are always leasehold. 

You can get help from another home 

ownership scheme called Older People’s 

Shared Ownership if you’re aged 55 or 

over. It works in the same way as the 

general Shared Ownership scheme, but 

you can only buy up to 75% of your 

home. Once you own 75% you won’t 

have to pay rent on the remaining share. 


trend spotting 

ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSE 

‘The stately homes of England 

How beautiful they stand! 

Amidst their tall ancestral trees, 

O’er all the pleasant land.’ 

Felicia Hemans, 1827 

The English country house style is 

timeless. If you are a fan of collectables, 

historical pieces, and antique jewellery, 

you will no doubt fall head over heels for 

this romantic interior style. English country 

homes are whimsical, cosy, and warm and 

whether you have an ancestral home or a 

modern house, there are plenty of ways to 

recreate this style. 

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE HOUSE 

The origin of the traditional country house 

style is an interesting one. It actually 

originated during the Tudor period, a 

time of relative peace and security in 

Britain. As it was no longer necessary to 

focus your home-making efforts towards 

defence of property, aristocrats could 

instead prioritise design. Their houses 

became sources of pride; a way of 

showing off their money and impressing 

their peers. And thus, the country house 

aesthetic was born. 

Despite the true provenance of this style, it 

wasn’t until the 1920s that the interior style 

that we recognise as 'English Country' 

came into fashion. Ironic as it sounds, 

it was an American woman, Nancy 

Lancaster, that brought the style to the 

fore and crystallised the aesthetic. 

Her philosophy regarding interior design 

revolved around comfort and elegance. 

She found ways to combine the traditional 

country house style with the practicalities 

of twentieth century living. 

Even through the popularity of minimalist 

design, the English country house style 

has remained a favourite. Plus, the ‘more 

is more’ mentality linked to this style 

means that your home will look better and 

better over years of collecting new art, 

ornaments and furniture. 


HOW TO RECREATE THE LOOK 

This style can be recreated and adapted to 

suit the space you’re working with. Whether 

you’re looking to start from scratch in a 

new home, or you want to make your living 

room feel a bit more cosy, we have some 

top country house tips for you... 

PERIOD PIECES 

Historical accents work beautifully with 

this scheme. If you are lucky enough 

to have a house with original beamed 

ceilings, a cosy open fireplace, or 

hardwood floors, then make the most 

of them - restore where you can using 

traditional techniques and complement 

them with tonal elements. 

FLORAL DECOR 

Florals are essential with this stunning 

style. Whether you fill your house with 

vases of flowers, or opt for floral prints on 

curtains, wallpapers and tablecloths, there 

is always a way to freshen up your home 

with botanicals. If you want a more subtle 

floral effect, invest in some antique silver. 

Lots of silver items feature floral motifs 

and they will also add a nostalgic sense of 

antiquity to your home. 

DETAILS ARE EVERYTHING 

The beauty of an English country house is 

that you constantly discover new personal 

touches within the eclectic theme. 

Baskets, boxes and other ornamental 

antiques are perfect for adding those 

extra little touches to your home. What’s 

more, these tiny antiquities will give the 

impression of a vast collection that’s taken 

generations to acquire, giving an ancestral 

feel to your home. 

BOOKSHELVES ARE A MUST! 

What’s a traditional English house without 

some traditional tomes. Bookshelves 

are essential to country house interiors, 

and it’s another case of the more the 

merrier. As well as a capacious library, 

your country house wouldn’t be complete 

without some cosy nooks and comfy sofas 

to bed down in. With the temperamental 

British weather, you will end up spending a 

lot of time in these cosy corners, so invest 

time in perfecting them. 

AMAZING ANTIQUES 

Antique furniture is the cherry on the 

top of this style. A classic trope of the 

English country house look is its eccentric 

busyness. So, go wild! Pick a range of 

furniture in different styles, from different 

time periods. It may seem random, 

but when they all sit together, they will 

look right at home. Head to your local 

auctioneers and invest in pieces you 

love - antique pieces are built to last and 

become heirlooms in their own right. 

The age-old beauty of the English country 

house style will make you feel cosy and 

content. If you prefer maximalist styles 

and historical features to stripped-back 

minimalism, then this is the style for you!

Winter 

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Bare Your Trusts Wealth, 

Bare trusts are true to their name 

and just deal with “bare” 

essentials! Your The trustees hold Decision 

the 

trust property on behalf of the 

beneficiary, Victoria it Iremonger, really is that simple. a paralegal at 

Wansbroughs Solicitors in Devizes considers 

the English Court’s commitment to upholding 

The beneficiary owns the 

Buying beneficial interest the Your property First 

and they are entitled to income 

it generates (if any) but they will 

House testamentary Together 

freedom... 

not own the property outright until 

they 

Matthew 

reach the 

Life, 

age of 

Partner 

18 years 

within 

of 

Testamentary freedom is the concept that the you Residential 

can, within your 

age. 

Will, Property leave your team wealth at Wansbroughs to whomever you Solicitors wish - whether explains by 

outright 

Bare trusts 

provision 

are often 

or 

used 

by placing 

by 

assets into a trust. 

grandparents what to consider to gift money if buying to their a home together... 

grandchildren who are below the age of 18 years old and therefore 

It The is an recent exciting case time of Cowan for any v young Foreman couple reaffirmed to be buying the English 

unable to receive such funds outright. In many instances, their first 

home grandparents 

Court’s together, commitment 

may but open for to an interest-bearing 

upholding unmarried testamentary or bank non-civil accounts 

freedom partnership in their 

couple grandchild/grandchildren’s 

wherever it is possible, particularly by rejecting important names 

Mrs 

and that Cowan’s 

then you consider transfer 

application 

money very carefully to 

into that 

how account receive you her – own either inheritance the larger property. one-off, in the form less frequent of outright sums legacies or more instead frequent of 

through sums, i.e. the monthly trusts sums. set up The by Mr grandparents Cowan’s Will. can rest assured in this 

instance Whenever that two they or retain more individuals control of the purchase funds as together, signatories there of the are 

account two Under ways the while in terms which their of grandchildren the Mr property Cowan’s can Will, are minors. be he owned. made The Mrs The funds Cowan first can is be as a 

called used beneficiary for ‘joint things of tenants’ two their trusts. grandchild the Since second may Mr Cowan’s require, is ‘tenants i.e. death, school in common’. the fees, trustees or 

These school have been are trips. technical supporting The only legal stipulation his terms widow is but with that each large they has must monthly important benefit payments. the It 

implications. 

grandchild is however because reported although that Mrs grandparents Cowan was uncomfortable will remain in control with the of 

arrangements, the funds, they actually feeling that belong she to was the “at grandchild. the mercy of the trustees” 

If who When buyers could the decide grandchild cut her to adrift own attains a with property the no age access as of 18, joint to they money tenants, can at request they all’. are that the 

trustees deemed transfer to each control own an of equal the trust share property of the and property, the income. regardless Bare 

trustees 

of Mrs whether Cowan must 

one therefore bear 

has 

in 

made 

mind applied a 

that 

larger to if they contribution High consider Court 18 

towards years vary old the the 

to be 

too 

purchase distribution young for 

price, of their her mortgage late grandchildren husband’s to 

or other estate. inherit 

household Ruling large sums 

payments. against of money her, Also, the if 

then 

one 

judge a 

of 

stated bare trust 

them dies, 

that may ‘there not 

their share 

is be absolutely suitable. 

automatically 

nothing 

passes 

in the 

to 

evidence 

the other 

to 

owner. 

It suggest is not 

It 

just that 

makes 

for the grandchildren 

no 

trustees 

difference 

would that 

whether 

blatantly bare trusts 

they 

defy 

have 

can the be 

made 

deceased’s created. 

a Will 

Bare 

or 

wishes’ trusts can 

expressed 

and be ‘it created 

other 

must 

wishes, 

be in Wills possible or when 

because 

for the trustees 

as joint 

testator of a 

tenants 

to pension provide scheme 

they have 

for his 

transfer 

‘connected’ 

widow by a lump a generous sum death 

interests. 

trust benefit, arrangement to name such just as a couple this, without of the 

examples. fear that it They will be do interfered not have to with contain at huge cash expense and can, in for proceedings example, 

contain 

For 

under 

many 

the shares 

couples 

1975 or Act.’ property. There can be more than one beneficiary 

of a bare trust (i.e. your 

buying 

grandchildren 

their first house 

as a class). 

together, 

All in 

they 

all, 

will 

they can 

either be be putting in unequal money from the start, or wish to 

‘ring-fence’ 

As 

very 

highlighted 

flexible 

their 

in 

in 

own 

the 

terms 

Cowan 

of what 

financial 

case, 

they 

interests 

as 

contain, 

long 

in the 

as 

who 

trustees 

the trustees 

house. In 

act 

which 

in 

are 

case, 

a 

and 

reasonable 

who the beneficiaries 

owning 

manner 

as tenants 

and 

are. 

in 

in 

common 

accordance 

They can be 

is more 

with 

set up 

appropriate. 

your 

by 

wishes, 

anyone, not 

just family members for the benefit of other family members. 

there is little reason to overturn a trust arrangement. It should 

For 

With 

however both capital 

tenants 

be noted gains 

in common, 

that tax Mrs and 

each 

Cowan inheritance 

individual 

has indicated tax purposes, 

owns a separate 

her intention the 

beneficiary 

and 

to appeal 

distinct 

the 

is treated 

portion 

judgment 

as the 

of the 

so 

value 

while, 

beneficial 

of 

for 

the 

now, 

owner 

property. 

the 

of any 

Courts 

property 

If one 

appear 

which 

of the 

to 

is held in the bare trust, not the trustees. The transfer by the 

owners 

be upholding 

dies, his 

this 

or 

concept, 

her share 

it remains 

does not 

to 

then 

be seen 

pass 

whether 

automatically 

Mrs 

individual, whoever that may be, into the trust is a gift for inheritance 

to 

Cowan 

the other 

will persuade 

owner, but 

them 

to whoever 

to alter the 

is nominated 

means of her 

in their 

inheritance. 

tax purposes but no inheritance tax charge will arise immediately Will. 

and With if tenants the individual common, gifting into it is also the trust possible survives to own for seven the house year from 

the in 

To 

separate 

find 

date 

out 

of the 

more 

shares gift 

about 

then (i.e 40% no 

making 

inheritance and 

a 

60%), 

Will 

tax 

and 

and will 

other 

to be have payable 

estate 

a detailed 

planning, 

at all. 

Declaration Capital please get gains in 

of tax touch 

Trust might with 

which arise your 

can on usual 

cover a transfer contact 

all manner into at the Wansbroughs 

of trust additional if the asset or 

arrangements. is contact not cash. us on Therefore 01380 

For instance, 

733 a gift 399 into a 

or a common 

via bank email account wish 

at 

is in to cash protect would one not 

wealth@wansbroughs.com. 

buyer’s trigger a larger charge initial to capital cash contribution, gains tax. so that on any sale this will 

be Once paid funds back are to in them bare first, trust, before capital the remaining gains tax, equity if payable, is shared. is 

payable 

By Victoria Iremonger 

Or, in case by the things beneficiary do not go but to they plan, are provisions entitled to can their be individual included 

annual to allow exemption one owner of to £11,100 buy Paralegal out and the - similarly, Private other. Client income tax will be 

payable by the beneficiary. 

Wansbroughs Solicitors 

So Bare plenty trusts to have think many about other when potential buying uses a property which you jointly! can discuss 

with us should you think Devizes: this might 01380 be of interest 733300to you. 

If you have would any like questions, to consider Melksham: please any contact of 01225 this in the 896100 more highly detail experienced please 

Residential contact Wansbroughs Property team wealth@wansbroughs.com 

in Devizes at Wansbroughs on 01380 Solicitors 733300, email and they 

wealth@wansbroughs.com would be happy to help. www.wansbroughs.com 

or your usual contact. 

Devizes Office 

Northgate House, Northgate 

Street, Devizes SN10 1JX 

Tel: 01380 733300 

Email: mail@wansbroughs.com 

www.wansbroughs.com 


Melksham Office 

7 Spa Road, Melksham, 

Wiltshire, SN12 7NP 

Tel: 01225 896100 

E: melksham@wansbroughs.com 

Contact us now for a free estimate and a 

professional service 

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TRADITIONAL VALUES. 

MODERN TOUCH. 

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Cheverell, Hopton Park, Devizes, Wiltshire SN10 2GH T: 01380 722722 E: enquiries@cheverell.co.uk

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GRAND PLANS 

Have big ambitions for your home? We find out 

more about some of the area’s most talented 

and creative architects and designers 

Cruice Goodall 

Architecture & Design 

Director Benedict Goodall offers a 

very personal service with a keen 

eye for maximising a project’s 

potential bringing in natural 

light and rationalising space and 

storage. 

Older properties are not always 

geared toward modern living 

aspirations – how can they be 

sensitively adapted? 

Careful analysis of the building’s 

history and structure leads to a 

more seamless build, often helping 

to uncover the best way to adapt a 

space to suit modern living whilst 

retaining original character. 

Many of us think our projects are 

too small to warrant involving an 

architect, but when is it advisable to 

work with one? 

Almost always! A good architect 

will ensure you get the best result 

for your project, from the concept 

phase through to completion, using 

their experience to reduce the risk of 

delays and unexpected costs. 

If there was one tip you could give 

all clients ahead of a project, what 

would it be? 

Take your time at the outset, agreeing 

the budget and plans with your 

architect. Changes and surprises 

later are costly and can compromise 

your project. 

020 3795 7222 

cruicegoodallarchitecture.com 

The Butts House, Pewsey SN9 6HZ 

A D Draughting 

Alex Dawson is a director of A.D. 

Draughting Ltd. who provide 

a comprehensive service from 

project inception to building. Based 

in Marlborough, plans are drawn to 

an exceptional standard of detail 

and quality. 

Many of us think our projects are 

too small to warrant involving an 

architect, but when is it advisable to 

work with one? 

It is always better to garner 

professional opinion. You are not 

just employing someone to draw 

some plans and get the necessary 

consents, you are drawing on 30 

years’ experience on what works and 

where value lies. 

How have you seen spaces change 

over your career? 

Design comes and goes in fashions. 

Separate kitchens have given way to 

open plan living. Different eco-friendly 

materials are on the radar of a lot of 

clients and how to connect to the 

outside is also more prevalent. 



would it be? 

Keep an open mind. While the basic 

requirements of a project may be 

clear, how that objective is achieved 

may be extraordinary. 

wt: 01672 511412 

m: 07791 341698 

addraughting.co.uk 

alex@addraughting.co.uk 

DRA Architects 

DRA Architects was established in 

1950 and operates from Devizes 

in Wiltshire employing Architects, 

Architectural Assistants and support 

staff. Nigel Keen is Director. 

Many of us are looking to improve 

rather than move – how can working 

with an architect add value? 

By working with an Architect, a client 

will be tapping into a whole wealth 

of knowledge and experience. This 

can help to enable clients unlock the 

inherent potential of their property to 

satisfy their needs and desires. 

Older properties are not always 

geared toward modern living 

aspirations – how can they be 

sensitively adapted? 

We find that each project is different, 

with some properties only requiring 

a ‘light touch’ whilst others require a 

much bolder approach. With a ‘light 

touch’ which we often refer to as 

the ‘scalpel approach’, we carefully 

strip back layers of history to expose 

the essence and character of the 

building. 



would it be? 

Seek advice at an early stage to 

establish the exact needs and to 

then help open-up the project’s 

full potential in an efficient and 

meaningful manner. 

01380 722204 

The Studio, 105 Southbroom Rd, 

Devizes, Wilshire SN10 1LY 


dolman architects 


With a new year come the decisions we make about where we live, and indeed how we live in the 

future, and much of this depends on our homes, how we heat them, use the space within them 

and what we can do to make full use of the resources and space available to us. 

The practice, established in 1973 and based in Devizes, is family founded and run, priding itself 

on delivering a reliable, friendly service to all of its clients. 

We had a chat to Nick Dolman of Dolman, a firm of Architectural Designers and Building 

Surveyors, about this long-established local practice with both a private and corporate client base. 

With the emphasis on sustainability, what features are you 

considering incorporating in new builds going forward? 

First and foremost, orientation, then insulation, thermal mass, 

natural light and ventilation. Some more ‘Eco’ than others. Fuel 

source is a ‘hot’ topic at the moment with heat pumps being 

pushed hard by Government and Manufacturers. 

We saw, at the end of last year, the RIBA Awards go to 

an incredible housing project which combines brilliant, 

sustainable design with a very community centred approach, 

how important do you think this is for our towns and villages? 

As I’m a Chartered Building Surveyor, albeit involved closely 

with Design all my professional life I defer to my three Architect 

colleagues who say that architecture is a multi-faceted discipline, 

we design buildings to be aesthetically pleasing, but we also have 

an ethical duty with every building we design, that it should improve 

the wider community even if only by improving the street-scene 

and setting and incorporating sustainable elements to minimise 

its carbon footprint. The palette of traditional and local materials 

is where possible incorporated into the contemporary, giving a 

continuity of the design language and connection to the existing. 

We live in a rural area and so much of the housing stock is 

older – what challenges does that give when incorporating 

extra space into an older property? 

Notwithstanding Planning and Conservation constraints 

and budget, the inter-relationship / linkage of old and new is 

fundamental. Achieving an easy and attractive flow is so important, 

contemporary twists and the inclusion of natural light are also very 

on trend. 

And finally, what is your own favourite local building and why? 

I must give credit to my father for his encouragement to open my 

eyes in the late 1970’s at the start of my further education, to what 

has been so local to me, and say Devizes Market Place – it has a 

group of buildings and a setting which are my favourite – there are 

so many architectural styles and features of note – if we slow down 

and look up there’s an absolute delight to behold. 


RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2020 

Gardens highlighting ways to 

combat climate change will take 

centre stage at the RHS Chelsea 

Flower Show 2020, sponsored by 

M&G, as the Royal Horticultural 

Society (RHS) announces next year’s 

garden line up. 

As the climate crisis continues to escalate 

a number of global brands and garden 

designers will use the world’s most famous 

flower show as a platform to encourage a 

future where we live in harmony with nature 

through urban design and sustainable 

practices. 

In just thirty years it is predicted that a third 

of the world’s population will live in cities. 

With this in mind award-winning design 

duo Hugo Bugg and Charlotte Harris 

have designed a communal residential 

garden for show sponsor M&G as with 

their design that promotes the essential 

need to incorporate and maintain beautiful, 

sustainable green spaces within our 

growing cities for the benefit of the planet 

and people. The garden highlights how 

communities and designers are working 

together to address this challenge by 

creating gardens in neglected city spaces. 

Sustainability is woven through the design 

of ‘The M&G Garden’ through the use of 

repurposed materials, water management 

techniques, permeable surfaces and a 

planting palette defined by resilient plants 

suitable for the climatic challenges of urban 

spaces. 

The ‘Guangzhou China: Guangzhou 

Garden’ by first time Show Garden 

designers Peter Chmiel and Chin-Jung 

Chen of Grant Associates provides a 

similar narrative, a city garden of the future 

that balances the needs of both people 

and wildlife whilst sustaining the planet’s 

health, promoting a move towards a new 

‘ecological civilization’. The garden features 


a woodland dell to clean the air, a pool to 

clean water and bamboo structures which 

represent homes for humans and wildlife. 

With deforestation central to the climate 

crisis ‘The Facebook Garden: Growing the 

Future’ looks at the benefits of increasing 

the UK’s tree cover whilst highlighting the 

need for better woodland management in 

a changing climate. Using timber in various 

forms, RHS Chelsea gold medal winning 

designer Joe Perkins hopes to showcase 

timber’s renewable and sustainable 

properties as it celebrates how social 

media platforms help share knowledge 

and empower others to plant more trees 

and support sustainable woodlands and 

timber use. 

Britain’s largest organic dairy company, 

Yeo Valley hopes to encourage the UK’s 

27 million gardeners to consider going 

organic and put nature first. ‘The Yeo 

Valley Organic Garden’ designed by awardwinning 

designer Tom Massey has been 

created with sustainability front and centre. 

Where possible the plants for the garden 

will be grown organically, while the carbon 

used to create the wildlife-friendly Show 

Garden will also be offset at Yeo Valley’s 

farm in Somerset. 

Designers across all categories this year 

have taken steps to be more sustainable in 

their garden designs. An increased number 

of designers are sourcing their plants and 

materials from within the UK, incorporating 

planting schemes which benefit wildlife and 

the environment. 

Timber is championed as the building 

material of choice for a number of garden 

structures due to its green, carbon-locking 

credentials. Contractors are working with 

designers to adopt alternative construction 

methods and opting for sustainable hard 

landscaping materials in a bid to avoid 

single use materials such as cement and 

concrete. Award-winning designer Robert 

Myers and his contractor Bowles and 

Wyer are experimenting with a new, more 

sustainable ‘wood’ concrete among other 

sustainable materials in The Florence 

Nightingale Garden - A Celebration of 

Modern Day Nursing whilst every element 

from the reclaimed brick walls to the 

artwork in The Bicester Village Artisan 

Garden (pictured above) designed by 

renowned florist Nikki Tibbles has been 

sustainably sourced. 

Growers at the heart of the show in the 

Great Pavilion are being directly impacted 

by climate change as environmental 

changes such as extreme weather 

conditions are affecting their plants and 

growing methods. To lessen their impact 

on the environment a number of growers 

and nurseries exhibiting this year have 

made positive changes by for example 

going peat free, growing in bio-degradable 

pots, switching from chemical to biological 

pest controls and harvesting rainwater for 

irrigation. 

Rose Gore Browne, RHS Chelsea Show 

Manager said: ‘This time of year is always 

exciting as the themes and trends for 

2020 begin to emerge, as gardens and 

horticulture are key to helping combat 

climate change, it is very encouraging to 

see a number of gardens addressing these 

issues and more designers and growers 

adopting suitable practices.’ 

The RHS is fundraising £40m to 

transform gardens, outreach and 

education facilities, which includes 

redeveloping the flagship RHS Garden 

Wisley and opening a new garden, RHS 

Garden Bridgewater, in 2020. The RHS 

is solely funded by its members, visitors 

and supporters. For more information 

visit www.rhs.org.uk.

Established in 1946 

& 

Trust the experts at Chirton Building Company for all kinds of building services, 

from home extensions to basement conversions, in Devizes, Wiltshire, and 

the surrounding areas. Backed by more than 70 years’ experience, we offer a 

professional yet friendly and reliable service. We always cater our services to 

your individual needs and ensure an excellent finish every time. 

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MG ZS 

Exclusive EV 

Motoring 

Journalist Sue 

Cooke test drives 

the new MG ZS 

Exclusive EV... 

Nowadays the majority of cars I am 

asked to road test are alternatively 

fuelled vehicles. The latest figures from 

the Society of Motor Manufacturers and 

Traders show that more than one in 10 

cars joining UK roads, are either hybrid, 

plug-in hybrid or pure electric. 

In fact, the demand for the latest 

battery electric cars surged by 228.8% 

and MG has joined the jostling crowd 

and launched an electric version of 

its compact Sports Utility Vehicle. It is 

good to see the choice moving from the 

supermini electric car to an electric small 

crossover, like the ZS. Aside from power 

being derived from a battery, the ZS has 

many other attributes. 

The exterior design is stylish with a large 

MG badge taking centre stage on the full 

frame grille. The badge is what the new 

owner will press to raise a portion of the 

front grille where one end of a lead is 

plugged into the car and the other into a 

house plug to charge the battery. 

Charging from home, using the 7kW Type 

2 charger to fully charge takes 6.5 hours, 

ideal for overnight charging but with the 

50kW CCS rapid charger, you can charge 

from zero to 80% in 40 minutes. 

The class leading interior space comes 

with most of the ‘extras’ as standard and 

trim level choice is the entry level Explore, 

Excite or top of the range, Exclusive. 

The ZS has one of the most generous 

shoulder, leg and headroom capacities 

in its segment. There is 448 litres of boot 

space, which is 60 litres larger than the 

typical compact SUV. The split-level boot 

has plenty of room for prams, luggage, 

outdoor leisure equipment or the 

weekly shop. Numerous compartments 

throughout the car provide additional 

storage. 

An 8” touch sensitive infotainment 

screen is supported by DAB radio (on the 

Exclusive and Excite models). Bluetooth 

hands-free and Cruise control are also 

included and Satellite Navigation and 

a rear camera are standard on the 

Exclusive variant. MG offers Apple Car 

Play on the Excite and Exclusive variants 

at no extra cost. The safer way to use 

your iPhone in the car, CarPlay will take 

the things you want to do with your 

iPhone while you are driving and puts 

them on the car’s in-built display. 

The Excite and Exclusive models come 

with three power-assisted steering modes 

– Urban, Normal and Dynamic. Normal 

is normal, while Urban steering offers 

a lighter and quicker response at low 

speeds and when parking. The Dynamic 

mode is designed to increase the steering 

effort, deliver a higher damping effect and 

increase the centre definition at medium 

and high vehicle speeds. 

Acceleration is instant as the car 

silently tiptoes through urban traffic. 

Deceleration is gradual as the right 

foot slowly removes the pressure. The 

EV is only available with automatic 

transmission. 

MG offers a 7 year/80,000 mile warranty 

as standard across all variants, which the 

British brand says is one of the longest 

fully transferable warranties in its class. 

It’s good to see the increase in 

registrations of electrified cars. The 

larger choice of models like the MG ZS 

SUV is ideal for people who want to go 

electric but also need the space and 

practicality of a compact SUV. For 2020 

manufacturers are offering plenty of new 

and exciting alternatively fuelled models 

to give buyers even more choice. It just 

needs a more confident consumer. 

Facts at a glance 

Model: MG ZS sports utility vehicle 

Exclusive EV 

Basic Price: £30,495otr but with the 

MG grant of £3,500 on top of the 

Government’s £3,500 plug-in car grant, 

the overall price is from £23,495. 

Power: 44.5 kWh battery 

Performance: 0-62mph in 8.5 seconds 

and on to a top speed of 87 mph 

CO2 emissions: zero 

Combined fuel consumption: WLTPaccredited 

range of 163 miles 


Mobile Tyre Fitting at... 

We make buying new tyres in Wiltshire easy. 

We can come to you – at home, at work, wherever you need us at 

NO EXTRA COST. You can visit is at our brand-new Swindon workshop 

in Cheney Manor Industrial Estate or, even easier, just send us your tyre 

details and we will send you the quote! 

No Hidden Extras…… 

We provide a complete and trusted service with Free Valve, Balance 

and Fitting. Our depot is in Cheney Manor Industrial Estate 

with easy access from Swindon and the M4, Jct 16. 

opening times 

Monday – Friday 

8.30 – 5.30pm 

Saturday 

8.30 – 1pm 

Sunday 

Closed 

Save On Tyres Ltd 

Cheney Manor Industrial 

Estate, Swindon SN2 2QT 

Tel: 01793 420100 

Mobile: 07866 351699 

NEW Pro-Align Wheel Alignment 

System now available. 


established, 

specialist advice 


Mention the name Porsche and we all have 

our ‘Porsche moment’ - whether that is from 

personal experience or just the recollection 

of an iconic scene from a film - Steve Bull 

Specialist Cars of Devizes must have many 

such moments as they are a family run 

Porsche specialist, so we had a chat to Daniel 

Bull about what it is like to have a forecourt 

full of temptation! 

How long have your family been running the business and 

how did it start? 

Dad started the business 25 years ago this year. A mechanic 

by trade, he worked for a number of other businesses the latter 

being a Porsche main agent for 15 years. The idea of a Porsche 

specialist was born out of that; being able to offer customers 

a dealer-based service and expertise but at a lower price. 

Predominantly a repair and restoration business, we decided to 

start the sales side about 3 years ago to offer customers a small 

selection of hand-picked vehicles that we are happy to put our 

name to. We are now a small team of 7. 

As well as sales you also offer a number of other services, 

including a pre-purchase inspection – for such a finely 

honed machine this must be a really important factor when 

buying a second hand Porsche? 

They say there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche and that’s 

usually true. That said there are some lovely well cared for an 

maintained cars out there. A pre-purchase inspection can offer 

a number of benefits when making such a big decision. It may 

just confirm what a lovely car it is and that you should certainly 

go for it, it may highlight a few issues that are either present 

now or may become more significant in the future. So it can be 

useful in terms of a negation point or purely to help you budget 

your life journey with the car, no hidden surprises. Of course 

it may also flag up some significant items that would be too 

drastic to repair or rectify and that it may not be the best idea. 

When looking for the perfect car you should certainly look for a 

good history file with regular use and maintenance by a dealer 

or recognised specialist as well as other more obvious things 

such as overall condition. 

You also offer storage which must be a really useful option 

for people who don’t use their pride and joy all of the time – 

what do you offer? 

Yes we do indeed, we have a secure, fully insured, off-site 

storage facility that can hold approx. 25 cars, a basic dry 

storage option or a more involved level which includes regular 

running, bespoke cover and battery condition based charger. A 

Porsche is certainly a car you can use all year round, however 

a number of our clients may have them as second or third cars 

and therefore may not have the space to store them or want 

them out of the horrible winter weather. We are completely 

flexible in terms of access to the car for that sunny weekend 

and happy to offer short, medium, and long-term options. 

And finally, I have to ask, what is your own favourite 

Porsche model? 

Ahh that’s too hard to choose, with Porsche there really is 

something out there for everyone ranging from 2 seater sports 

cars to hybrid 4 x 4’s. I think personally a classic 80’s 911 is 

pretty hard to beat although as an all year round proposition I 

do love a Cayenne Turbo. 

SERVICING, REPAIRS & SALES 

• Numerous Porsche models for sale 

• Buyers of all Porsche vehicles - please call 

• Factory trained / 15 years dealer experience 

• Free advice 

• Dealer standards maintained 

• Purpose built premises 

• Pre-purchase inspection 

• Full diagnostic facilities 

T: 01380 725444 

Mob: 07767 324542 

Sales: 07590 822968 

stevebullspecialistcars.co.uk 



How high is your 

blood pressure? 

By Shalbourne Private Health 

Care’s Dr Tom Hyde, a 

highly experienced 

general cardiologist 

with a specialist interest 

in the prevention and 

management of coronary 

artery disease... 

High blood pressure is pretty common. 

Around a third of adults in the UK have 

blood pressure levels that are persistently 

high, although many of these will be 

unaware of it. That’s because high blood 

pressure, or hypertension as it’s also 

known, rarely has symptoms that we 

notice. 

Yet, if left untreated, it can be serious. 

Persistently raised blood pressure can 

increase our risk of many serious health 

conditions, including heart disease, 

strokes, aneurysms, kidney disease and 

vascular dementia. 

That’s the bad news. The good news 

is that there are steps you can take to 

reduce your chances of developing 

high blood pressure, and that if you are 

diagnosed with high blood pressure, it 

can be treated. 

You can get your blood pressure checked 

by a health professional at your surgery 

or pharmacy, or you can buy a home 

blood pressure monitor. The British 

Hypertension Society has information 

about validated blood pressure monitors 

that you can buy at bihsoc.org/bpmonitors/for-home-use/. 

Everyone’s 

blood pressure fluctuates, so remember 

that one high reading doesn’t necessarily 

mean you have a problem. Anxiety 

about the test can itself raise your blood 

pressure! 

How can high blood pressure be 

prevented or lowered? 

If you have a family history of high blood 

pressure, or are of African or Caribbean 

origin, your risk of developing it may be 

higher. But these steps can help you 

reduce your blood pressure: 

• Reducing the amount of salt in 

your food – by cutting down on 

processed food and cooking with 

fresh or frozen ingredients, using 

spices and herbs to flavour instead 

of salt. 

• Cutting out smoking altogether. 

• Taking more exercise. A brisk walk 

that makes you slightly breathless 

but not uncomfortable, taken three 

or four times a week, will bring 

benefits. 

• Maintaining a healthy Body Mass 

Index (BMI) of between 18.5 and 

24.9. Go to www.nhs.uk/live-well/ 

healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/ to 

check yours out. 

• Keeping to the guidelines of no 

more than 14 units of alcohol a 

week, with several alcohol-free 

days a week. 

• Checking with your pharmacist 

which over-the-counter medicines 

may raise your blood pressure. 

Some cough and cold remedies, 

NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and 

herbal remedies (especially those 

containing liquorice) may do so. 

• Sleeping well. Long-term sleep 

deprivation can raise blood 

pressure, so try to relax with a bath 

or easy read before bed, avoid 

using mobiles and PCs before 

sleeping and keep your bedroom as 

quiet and dark as you can. 

Shalbourne Private Health Care is 

proudly provided by Great Western 

Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. To 

find out more call 01793 646060 or 

01793 646061. 

www.theshalbourne.co.uk 



Embrace retirement 

to the full at 

Wadswick Green 

Is it time to change your life and move 

into a new retirement home? 

Wadswick Green, a modern lifestyle village for the over 60s near 

Corsham, is home to retirees who are semi or fully retired and 

want to live an activity-rich life in a friendly community. Set at 

the heart of the rolling Wiltshire countryside, the lifestyle village 

features one, two and three bedrooms apartments with exclusive 

access to a number of village-wide amenities. 

The 25-acre village is built around its central hub, The Pavilion, 

offering residents easy access to facilities such as a swimming 

pool complete with a Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room; spa with 

numerous treatments available; gym; and hair salon. 

PETS ARE GOOD FOR YOU! 

They provide us with companionship, 

unconditional affection and are beautiful to 

look at.... 

Pet owners also tend to be 

healthier, showing less sick days, 

allergies, depression and heart 

disease. They recover more 

quickly from stressful events and 

heart attacks. Children from pet 

owning families have stronger 

immune systems, take fewer 

days off sick from school and 

are less likely to become obese. Dog owners also benefit from their 

pet’s need for regular exercise and if you establish a routine, your 

pet will help you to keep to it! 

Share your pet with others: volunteer for the wonderful PAT charity 

so your dog or cat can bring joy and comfort to people in hospitals, 

nursing homes and special schools or help children to learn to read 

aloud. Visit www.petsastherapy.org to find out more. 

And spotlight on: 

Higby and Dottie are rescue whippets who work up to five days a 

week in dementia day clubs run by Alzheimers Support in Devizes, 

Trowbridge and Warminster. They are very popular members of the 

team and provide a calming and normalising presence. As well as 

the tactile experience of stroking, the animals spark memories and 

group conversations. They bring much joy to those who once had 

the companionship of dogs but are now denied it through illness 

and advancing age. And just by being themselves, Higby and Dottie 

can help new members to gain confidence and integrate. Some 

members spend their first couple of sessions just talking to the 

dogs! 


Residents can boost their wellbeing and keep fit thanks to the 

village’s very own personal trainer and complimentary fitness 

classes on offer. A range of activities and day trips are regularly 

organised along with many hobby groups such as walking 

groups, dance classes and reading groups to add to the list of 

things to do. 

The village is also home to The Greenhouse Coffee Shop and 

Restaurant, which is open to the public and attracts visitors 

from surrounding towns thanks to its charming décor, large sun 

terrace and great menu. Head Chef Darren has designed a menu 

that celebrates local produce and boasts traditional dishes with a 

contemporary spin, delighting visitors and locals alike. Opened 7 

days a week, it’s the perfect space for socialising with friends or 

getting together with family. 

Almond Close is the newest phase of apartments on offer at 

Wadswick Green with prices starting from £335,500. There 

are also The Pavilion one bedroom apartments, available from 

£249,950. 

To book an appointment and visit the showhome please call 

01225 584 500 or visit www.wadswickgreen.co.uk 


Merlin Court 

Care Home 

The Peace of Mind You’ve Been 

Looking For 

Are you worried about how your loved one is coping at home on 

their own? With so many families dispersed across the country 

in modern times and unable to visit family members on a daily 

basis, there is growing concern about our older generation being 

vulnerable to falls, forgetting to take medication and receiving a 

balanced and nutritious diet. Now may be the time to consider 

their options as you help them to look for a better lifestyle. 


Merlin Court Care Home can offer support and the benefit of 

the full-time company of others in a comfortable and enriching 

lifestyle. Situated next to the Common in the historic town of 

Marlborough in Wiltshire, this beautiful home delivers the highest 

standards in residential and dementia care and all the support an 

individual needs in a safe and secure environment. 

Resident well-being is at the centre of Merlin Courts’ quality care. 

A wide range of healthy exercises, well balanced and freshly 

prepared dining, along with trips out in the private minibus and 

daily activities and events are all a part of a supportive lifestyle. 

Everyone is encouraged to become active participants in the 

home’s life and friends and family can stay in contact using 

Skype and social media, and for those special celebrations there 

is a private dining room available. 

Residents can enjoy home baked cakes in the atrium café, take 

refreshments in the landscaped gardens, relax in one of the quiet 

lounges, have a hair or beauty treatment in the salon or catch a 

film in the cinema. 

Merlin Court offers the best in care from highly trained staff at an 

all-inclusive price, no matter how much care is needed. We’ll look 

after your loved one just as you would. 

Search ‘Merlin Court Care’ online or on Facebook, 

or call 01672 512454. 

innovations wiltshire 

Care is much in the news and we are therefore delighted to 

speak to someone who is very much involved in the sector 

– and the recipient of a significant personal award too. We 

spoke to Sally Rhodes of Innovations Wiltshire, who has just 

been awarded South West Care Manager of the year in the 

Great British Care Awards… 


First of all, well done, you must be delighted – what does it 

mean to you to win this award? 

I am very proud to win this award because I was nominated by 

my employees and the clients, which makes it really special. For 

me it’s about the team and they are all amazing! 

A carers role can be challenging but so rewarding, no two days 

are ever the same and my job is about everyone’s wellbeing, 

carers and clients alike. 

There is a movement in many towns around the country to 

make them dementia friendly, how important do you think 

this is…… 

Marlborough has an above average of residents over the age 

of 55 and nationally 1 in 6 people over the age of 80 being 

diagnosed with dementia. There are also approximately 42,000 

people under 65 having a diagnosis of dementia in the UK, so it 

is therefore important that the town is able to cater for the needs 

of all its residents going forward. We have joined forces with 

the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce who are supporting 

us to raise awareness and if you would like to know more about 

dementia do visit the Alzheimer’s Society website. 

The care sector is 

facing a shortage of 

staff going forward – 

what is the best thing 

about your job? 

The clients - I make 

sure every client knows 

me and I them, and they 

are all so interesting. 

They all have so much 

life experience, they 

have knowledge and 

they have seen so 

much, they can make 

you laugh and cry and they are what the job is about. 

And finally we wish you the very best for the National 

Awards going forward – good luck from everyone at 

Marlborough Living! 

01672 514 339 

www.innovationswiltshireltd.co.uk 


Wiltshire’s independent, 

owner-managed dementia care home 

Seahorses—situated in the Wiltshire village of 

Chiseldon—is six miles from the historic market 

town of Marlborough. 

A considered and friendly environment—both inside 

and out 

For older people in need of dementia care, 

Seahorses feels more like a home-from-home than 

any large and impersonal institution can offer. 

Culturally diverse approach 

Seahorses provides the support and supervision 

needed to help maximise physical, intellectual, 

emotional and social capacity, enabling residents 

to enhance their quality of life within a safe, 

manageable and comfortable environment. 

If you’re thinking of placing a loved one in 

dementia care, please call us on 

+44 (0)1793 740109 - we’ll be happy to advise. 

The Marlborough Mobility Store | 56 George Lane 

MARLBOROUGH | SN8 4BY | Tel: 01672 511550 | Free Parking 

The Wroughton Mobility Store | 9a Ellendune Shopping Centre 

WROUGHTON | SN4 9LN | Tel: 01793 815083 

www.thehearingandmobilitystore.co.uk 


"I am full of 

admiration and 

gratitude for 

Rosemary. I am 

sure that Ralph 

wouldn't be here 

if it were not for 

the Abilive-in 

team" 

Live-in Care is the perfect choice for anyone 

who needs extra support and wishes to remain 

in the comfort of their own home, with the 

reassurance of a full time live-in carer. 

If you would like the peace of mind, independence and 

support that a 24 hour carer can provide then Abi is your 

perfect partner. 

Your Abi Carer can assist with: 

Dementia Care 

Specialist Care - contact for details 

Elderly Care 

Convalescent / Respite Care 

Achieving better independence... 

In the comfort of your own home 

www.abilivein.co.uk 

Contact us today to discuss your requirements for Live-in care 

01722 441357 

help@abilivein.co.uk 

LIVE IN Care 

We offer experienced, competent and qualified, 

DBS vetted, Care Staff. 

For all your LIVE IN care needs. 

We are Professional and Compassionate. 

References naturally provided. 

Please contact us to discuss your needs. 

We are here to help. Anytime. 

Telephone: 0333 012 4040 

info@eternitycaresolutions.co.uk 

www.eternitycaresolutions.co.uk 


Call us for a 

friendly chat 

on 

01256 700991 

A trusted provider of Live-In Care, we are 

proud of the difference our high quality, 

managed care makes to those in need of 

support. Whether you would like 

companionship or need support due to 

dementia, ill health, physical frailty or 

disability, our Live-In Care is the ideal 

option. We offer you the support you 

need, on your terms, in your own home. 

www.calidacare.co.uk

Just what 

you need 

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From Frommortgages mortgagesand and investments investments to pensions to pensions and laterlifeplanning, and later life planning, 

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Calne 

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MORTGAGESONAND EQUITY RELEASE FROM YOURHOME WILLBESECURED AGAINST IT. 

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Chilvester Financial, Registered in England, No.4590782 |Registered Office: 1OxfordRoad, Calne, WiltshireSN118AA 


Caring for the elderly members of your family 

Over Christmas you may have spent some time with the family and perhaps more time with 

the elderly members and you become concerned about their health? 

Here we list 8 warning signs to assess if 

they need help and what to do if they do. 

You may wish to consider the following 

questions: 

1. Is the person (persons) able to take care 

of themselves? 

Pay attention to their appearance. Failure 

to keep up with daily routines - such as 

bathing and tooth brushing - could indicate 

dementia, depression or other physical 

impairments.Also pay attention to their 

home. Are the lights working? Is the heat 

on? Is the garden overgrown? Any changes 

in the way things are being done around the 

house could provide clues to their health. 

For example, scorched pots could mean 

they are forgetting about food cooking on 

the stove. Neglected housework could be 

a sign of depression, dementia or other 

concerns. 

2. Are they experiencing memory loss? 

Everyone forgets things from time to time. 

Modest memory problems are a fairly 

common part of ageing, and sometimes 

medication side effects or underlying 

conditions contribute to memory loss. 

There’s a difference, though, between 

normal Changes in memory and the type of 

memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s 

disease and other types of dementia. Are 

the memory changes limited to misplaced 

glasses or an occasionally forgotten 

appointment - or are the changes more 

concerning, such as forgetting common 

words when speaking, getting lost in 

familiar neighbourhoods or being unable to 

follow directions? 

3. Are they safe in their home? 

Take a look around their home, keeping an 

eye out for any problems. Could their be a 

difficulty navigating a narrow stairway? Are 

they able to read directions on medication 

containers? When asked, do they say they 

feel safe at home? 

4. Are they safe on the road? 

Driving can be challenging for older adults. 

Do they become confused while driving 

or are you concerned about their ability to 

drive safely, it might be time to stop driving. 

They could be a danger to others. 

5. Have they lost weight? 

Losing weight without trying could be a sign 

that something’s wrong. Weight loss could 

be related to many factors, including: 

• Difficulty cooking. 

• Loss of taste or smell. 

• Underlying conditions - indicating ill health. 

6. Is the person (persons) in good spirits? 

Note their moods and ask how they’re 

feeling. A drastically different mood could 

be a sign of depression or other health 

concerns. 

7. Are they still social? 

Talk to them about their activities. Are 

they connecting with friends? Have they 

maintained interest in hobbies and other 

daily activities? Are they involved in 

organisations or clubs? Have they given up 

on being with others, it could be a sign of 

a problem. 

8. Is the person (persons) able to get 

around? 

Pay attention to how they are walking. 

Are they reluctant or unable to walk usual 

distances? Have they fallen recently? Is 

knee or hip arthritis making it difficult to get 

around the house? Would they benefit from 

a cane or walker? Issues such as muscle 

weakness and joint pain can make it difficult 

to move around as well. If someone is 

unsteady on their feet, they might be at risk 

of falling - a major cause of disability among 

older adults. 

Taking action 

There are many steps you can take to 

ensure the person/persons’ health and wellbeing, 

even if you don’t live nearby. Share 

your concerns with them. Your concerns 

might motivate them to see a doctor or 

make other changes. 

Encourage regular medical check-ups 

If you’re worried about weight loss, 

depressed mood, memory loss or other 

signs and symptoms,encourage them to 

schedule a doctor’s visit. 

You might offer to schedule the visit or to 

accompany them to the doctor - or find 

someone else to attend the visit. Ask about 

follow-up visits as well. 

Address safety issues 

Point out any potential safety issues you 

have observed - then make a plan to 

address the problems. For example, the 

person (persons) concerned might benefit 

from using assistive devices to help them 

reach items on high shelves. A higher toilet 

seat or handrails in the bathroom might help 

prevent falls. If they are no longer able to 

drive safely, suggest other transportation 

options -such as taking the bus or using 

a taxi. 

Consider home care services 

Particularly if they are having trouble taking 

care of themselves, you could hire someone 

to clean the house and run errands and 

help with daily activities, such as bathing. To 

ensure good nutrition Meals on Wheels is 

also an option. 

And finally 

It would be a good idea to secure an 

Enduring Power of Attorney to ensure that 

if things get worse you can step in without 

having to involve the Court of Protection. 

Your solicitor will be able to give you good 

advice on this. 


Carematch is a unique service that puts control 

of your care back into your hands 

Choose your own carer- 

Find your perfect Carematch! 

To find out more, get in touch today! 

enquiries@carematch.ltd 

01722 442311 

www.carematch.ltd 

If you're looking for a job in care, contact us now!-We pay £15.16 per hour! 



New Years Resolution 

Strapline about the piece to include the 

opening para if needed. No larger than 

– 

15pt, 

Do 

no 

I 

smaller 

need 

than 

a Divorce 

10pt 

financial Order? 

Peter Berry is a Family and Collaborative 

Lawyer for Awdry Bailey & Douglas Solicitors, 

based at the firm’s Marlborough Office 

The most recent statistics, issued by the 

Ministry of Justice, highlight an alarming 

drop of over 60% in the number of 

financial Orders being made in Divorce 

proceedings. This is put down to the rise 

in “Online” Divorce applications, where 

the parties are more likely not to have 

taken legal advice and do not know the 

risks. 

I hear a range of reasons for putting off 

dealing with financial aspects: 

• We do not need a financial order 

because we have “sorted it out” 

informally 

• I don’t want to stir up a hornets 

nest of issues, so I just live with it 

• I “hope” we can agree a fair split of 

the house at some point, later on 

• We are going to leave it until the 

children leave home 

• We don’t have much to sort out, 

just the house, pensions and some 

credit cards… 

Decisions that could come back to 

haunt you. But why is a financial Order 

so essential? 

• If you are still financial tied to your 

ex, how can you move on with any 

certainty? 

• Your idea of what is “fair” may well 

be very different to your ex, 

• Circumstances often change 

significantly over relatively short 

periods of time 

• An informal agreement is not legally 

binding, people to change their 

minds 

• What happens if you have inherited 

assets, are they marital assets? 

• What happens if your ex stops 

paying towards the mortgage or 

bills? 

• What happens if your ex becomes 

ill, gets injured or loses their job? 

• Where’s your pension for the 

future? Once you are Divorced, you 

are no longer entitled to a spouse/ 

widowers pension and you may end 

up with nothing. 

Many of us are uncomfortable talking 

about money, and when you are going 

through an emotional time you may 

feel even less inclined to deal with it. 

However, it is an essential part of being 

able to move on with your life. 

After a Divorce, financial claims can 

still be made. What happens if you 

have; remarried, moved on with your 

life, started a business, invested or 

inherited and then a financial claim is 

made by your ex? Claims for a monthly 

maintenance payment, lump sums of 

capital, property claims and pension 

claims are all still left open and can come 

out of the closet when you least expect it. 

Taking specialist legal advice from us can 

help you settle financial arrangements 

and avoid future claims arising. We can 

help you turn an informal agreement 

into a binding, life long Court Order 

too. These are commonly referred to 

as “Consent Orders” & “Clean Break 

Orders”. 

Please contact peter.berry@awdrys. 

co.uk for further details and if you wish 

to organise a free initial consultation. 

* reference source: Family Court Tables 

(2011 to 2018) published at https://www. 

gov.uk/government/statistics/familycourt-statistics-quarterly-january-tomarch-2019

Marlborough Living Jan - Feb 2020

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