J'AIME OCTOBER 2021
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O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1<br />
J’AIME<br />
Y O U R L O C A L L U X U R Y L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E<br />
Dancing<br />
queen Dame<br />
Arlene’s new<br />
Birmingham<br />
show<br />
GET<br />
KNITTED!<br />
Cosy style for the<br />
chillier months<br />
CHEF TOM<br />
SHEPHERD’S<br />
long-awaited Lichfield launch<br />
THE SUTTON COLDFIELD<br />
MUM TURNED CHILDREN’S<br />
BOOK AUTHOR
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WE INVITE YOU TO OUR 35TH<br />
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS<br />
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JOIN US ON THE 8TH, 9TH AND 10TH OF <strong>OCTOBER</strong> WHERE WE<br />
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WILL BE SHOWCASING OUR SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY PENDANT<br />
AND CELEBRATING WITHIN THE GALLERY OVER THE WEEKEND<br />
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Welcome to J’AIME<br />
Here at J’AIME, nothing excites us more than the<br />
launch of a new restaurant, and this month sees one<br />
of the most hotly anticipated new openings we can<br />
remember. Acclaimed chef and Lichfield lad Tom<br />
Shepherd, formerly head chef of Michelin-starred<br />
Adams Restaurant in Birmingham, returns to his<br />
home city with his first solo venture, Upstairs By Tom<br />
Shepherd. With more than 1,000 bookings taken<br />
already, and Friday and Saturday nights fully filled<br />
for the rest of the year, it’s set to be the hottest ticket<br />
in town, and we caught up with Tom to find out how<br />
things were going ahead of the grand opening.<br />
Elsewhere, we chat to former Strictly Come Dancing<br />
judge Dame Arlene Phillips, who is the choreography<br />
brains behind What’s New Pussycat?, the brand new<br />
musical based on the music of Sir Tom Jones, which<br />
premieres at the Birmingham REP this month. We<br />
also speak to comedian Jasper Carrott and musician<br />
Bev Bevan about their show, Stand Up and Rock,<br />
which comes to the Lichfield Garrick next year.<br />
As brand new foodie weekender Love Cheese Live<br />
comes to the Staffordshire County Showground this<br />
month, we get the lowdown from Staffordshire chef<br />
Thom Bateman, who will be gracing the main stage<br />
alongside Michel Roux Jr, Marco Pierre White and<br />
more.<br />
With our usual mix of autumnal interiors, fashion and<br />
beauty, the best in Halloween family entertainment,<br />
top class travel and more, we hope there’s plenty here<br />
to keep you entertained. So put your feet up, brew<br />
yourself a pumpkin spiced latte and enjoy!<br />
If you like what you read in this issue, then why not<br />
help us to spread the word? As well as being delivered<br />
directly to homes in selected postcodes across the<br />
area, you can pick J’AIME up free of charge in major<br />
supermarkets around the Midlands, as well as read<br />
the whole thing - and plenty more! - online at<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com<br />
EDITOR: AMY NORBURY<br />
EDITOR@JAIMEMAGAZINE.COM<br />
ADVERTISING: JAN ASHLEY<br />
ADVERTISING@JAIMEMAGAZINE.COM<br />
07388 335 931<br />
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CONTRIBUTORS: JAZZ SHERGILL,<br />
KATY EDGINGTON, TONY COLLINS,<br />
OLIVER BROAD, ROB PALMER, EVA DAVE,<br />
DEBORAH MITCHELL<br />
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CO N T E N T S<br />
InsideJ’aime this month...<br />
6 Dame Arlene Phillips - The former Strictly<br />
favourite on her new Birmingham show<br />
10 Chef Tom Shepherd - The prodigal son returns<br />
to Lichfield with his new restaurant<br />
14 Jasper Carrott and Bev Bevan - Back on the<br />
road and heading to Lichfield<br />
18 Property - Property of the month<br />
20 Interiors - Tranquil bathroom updates<br />
24 Interiors - Cosy touches for autumn<br />
30 Author Catherine Hair - The Sutton Coldfield<br />
mum inspired to write her first children’s book<br />
34 Food and drink - Reviewing The Meynell<br />
Ingram Arms<br />
36 Food and drink - Staffordshire chef Thom<br />
Bateman at Love Cheese Live<br />
40 Food and drink - National award for<br />
Staffordshire pub<br />
42 Food and drink - Chef Rob Palmer’s Lichfield<br />
residency<br />
44 Travel - The world’s most splendid cruise ship<br />
50 In the news - A remembrance service for Baby<br />
Loss Awareness Month<br />
51 What’s On - Halloween events for all the<br />
family<br />
52 What’s On - Events around the Midlands this<br />
month<br />
56 Fashion - Get knitted for autumn<br />
58 Fashion - Eyewear styling with Eva Dave<br />
60 Beauty - Autumn skincare updates from<br />
Deborah Mitchell<br />
62 Beauty - Walsall makeup artist Ravita Pannu<br />
64 In the news - A first wedding for stunning new<br />
venue<br />
65 In the news - Make over your smile<br />
66 In the news - Kitchen updates from a<br />
Staffordshire family business<br />
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F E AT U R E<br />
This is What’s New, Pussycat<br />
DAME ARLENE PHILLIPS DBE HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED AS CHOREOGRAPHER OF BRAND NEW<br />
MUSICAL WHAT’S NEW PUSSYCAT?, SHOWCASING AT BIRMINGHAM’S VERY OWN THE REP.<br />
JAZZ SHERGILL SPOKE TO HER TO FIND OUT MORE<br />
DAME ARLENE PHILLIPS<br />
Dame Arlene Phillips is simply in love with all things<br />
Sixties. The swinging era, which brought iconic<br />
fashion, music and more, holds a special place in the<br />
legendary choreographer and former Strictly Come<br />
Dancing judge’s heart.<br />
So she was delighted when she was approached to<br />
get involved with a brand new stage production<br />
which celebrates the best of the era.<br />
The highly anticipated What’s New Pussycat?, which<br />
is showcasing at The REP theatre in Birmingham<br />
from October 8 to November 14, is a joyous,<br />
romantic and entertaining production based on<br />
Henry Fielding’s classic comic novel The History<br />
of Tom Jones, A Foundling. Written by the Tony<br />
Award-winning Joe DiPetro, the show has the full<br />
backing of Sir Tom himself, who has been consulting<br />
with the producers throughout the development, and<br />
will feature his biggest hits.<br />
“The opportunity was presented to me and I’m in<br />
love with the Sixties where this production is set and<br />
with obviously music courtesy of Tom Jones, I love<br />
the songs and the music and based on the original<br />
novel it sounded suitably wacky and bonkers and<br />
I went, yeah, I want to do that. So here I am!” she<br />
said.<br />
What’s New Pussycat? will be directed by Luke<br />
Sheppard, whose most recent production, the<br />
acclaimed & Juliet, has taken the West End by storm,<br />
winning three Olivier Awards and six Whatsonstage<br />
Awards.<br />
The audience can expect to experience the swinging<br />
Sixties of London as Tom Jones arrives in the capital<br />
with a broken heart, he has plans to pursue big<br />
dreams. He discovers an exciting world of dancing<br />
and amazing music. As romance and adventure<br />
await, will Tom ever be reunited with his one true<br />
love?<br />
Arlene has worked as a director and/or<br />
choreographer on musicals including Grease, We<br />
Will Rock You, Starlight Express, The Wizard of Oz,<br />
The Sound of Music, Saturday Night Fever, and the<br />
plays Allelujah and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at<br />
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DAME ARLENE PHILLIPS DURING REHEARSALS.<br />
PHOTO BY PAMELA RAITH<br />
the Bridge Theatre.<br />
What’s New Pussycat? allowed Arlene to relive<br />
her life in the Sixties, which, she explains, was a<br />
significant time in her life.<br />
“The Sixties for me, I was in my late teens, early<br />
twenties, coming to London, you know, I really did<br />
feel like the streets were paved in gold, it was so alive<br />
and buzzing,” she said.<br />
“It’s like the world was changing. I loved the Sixties<br />
fashion, the style, the dances, there were suddenly<br />
dance programmes on television and for me this was<br />
everything I dreamed of happening all around me so<br />
I have a big love for the Sixties.”<br />
Sir Tom Jones has been a part of the development<br />
stages of What’s New Pussycat?, and his hits will<br />
be used in the musical. To name just a few, you can<br />
expect to hear Green, Green Grass of Home, It’s<br />
Not Unusual, Leave Your Hat On, Delilah, Mama<br />
Told Me Not To Come, Sex Bomb and, of course,<br />
What’s New Pussycat?<br />
Arlene’s craft goes beyond just being a<br />
choreographer; she studies the entire production of<br />
the music she works with to bring it to<br />
life.<br />
“I find Tom Jones’ music inspiring<br />
because a lot of the rhythms are,<br />
sambas, cha-chas, there is a lot of<br />
dance rhythm in them, it’s great music<br />
to dance to and also some really<br />
fascinating lyrics,” she explains.<br />
“So of course, when you’re working<br />
on a musical you really listen to the<br />
lyrics, you are delving into them - what<br />
did they say? How can I make this<br />
work on stage and express all of it?<br />
I’m working with an amazing director,<br />
Luke Shepherd, and I have loved bringing<br />
the show to life with him. The show is<br />
funny and the writer Joe DiPietro’s sense of<br />
humour is so appealing to me. I love when I<br />
get a chance to work in a show that has all<br />
the comedy I love, and this show has all of<br />
that.”<br />
The audience can expect to be transported<br />
into a different era, this feel-good musical<br />
is something we could all use and be a part<br />
of, especially after many of us have been<br />
turning to TV series’ over lockdown – let’s<br />
go out and feel the joy on stage!<br />
“I think over these last few years, we’ve seen<br />
a lot of great television shows that are set in<br />
different eras, from The Queen’s Gambit to<br />
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and you start to<br />
fall in love with shows set in the time,” says Arlene.<br />
“I think this show will really bring the Sixties to life,<br />
and it’s going to look and feel like, oh my gosh, that’s<br />
an era I want to live in or be a part of - everything<br />
from the set to the costumes. I think the audience<br />
will find it funny, they’ll love the music and the cast –<br />
it’s a great musical, and it will send you out singing.<br />
And I think we all need the joy of coming out of<br />
something and just singing it.”<br />
The theatre industry took a big hit because of<br />
the COVID-19 pandemic, with many people out<br />
of work and productions being forced to stop.<br />
Arlene said it felt like being in “limbo” and that the<br />
production team were delighted once the green light<br />
was given to continue working on the musical.<br />
“Oh, it’s difficult. We did our first workshop and at<br />
the start of 2020, and then, everything stopped. We<br />
were just about to go into production and everything<br />
stopped and we had no idea that it was going to<br />
happen. It was hard because we were preparing<br />
everything, we worked on the workshop, with the<br />
DOMINIC ANDERSEN IN REHEARSALS<br />
FOR HIS ROLE AS SIR TOM JONES IN<br />
WHAT’S NEW PUSSYCAT. PHOTO BY<br />
PAMELA RAITH<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com<br />
7
idea this was all going to happen and of course, then<br />
it didn’t.<br />
“It was quite devastating because the life I think you<br />
live working in theatre is full on. And then suddenly<br />
there’s a silence surrounding you and you can’t see<br />
anybody or meet with people or see family talk to<br />
anyone. And you’re left in this sort of limbo of life<br />
that seems to have stopped all the buzz that is around<br />
you. It just seemed to have turned into silence, it was<br />
quite hard to deal with it and even to process it. So,<br />
we were delighted when we discovered in <strong>2021</strong>, this<br />
was going to come back to life and we are in real<br />
rehearsals.”<br />
As we move out of the pandemic and return back to<br />
normality, the feeling of theatre is back and there is<br />
so much to look forward to. With so many emotions<br />
and feelings of positivity, what were Arlene’s top<br />
three highlights of working on What’s New Pussycat?<br />
“I think one is the music! Oh my goodness! And with<br />
our brilliant musical arranger, Matt Brind, who has<br />
been a joy to work with and bringing the music light<br />
to life and close to your heart – that’s one thing,”<br />
Arlene says.<br />
“The joy of working with an extraordinary director,<br />
Luke Sheppard, he focuses and brings it to breathing<br />
life off the pages from our writer. And number three<br />
is to be back working, choreographing and feeling<br />
like life slowly is trickling along and a life that you<br />
love has returned again.”<br />
Birmingham Repertory Theatre, in association with<br />
REHEARSALS ARE UNDERWAY FOR THE SHOW,<br />
WHICH PREMIERES AT THE REP THIS MONTH<br />
Flody Suarez and Kilimanjaro Theatricals will be<br />
presenting What’s New Pussycat and at an even<br />
more incredible time as The REP’s iconic building<br />
celebrates turning 50 years old.<br />
“I’m a big fan of Birmingham and how wonderful<br />
it is that we are opening in Birmingham, because I<br />
know our audiences are going to love it and they’re<br />
going to show they love it,” says Arlene.<br />
“The thing about it is that every theatre where you<br />
open a new musical is very special. I just have to say<br />
a huge thank you to the theatre and everybody in it<br />
that has brought us there to this opening because we<br />
are going to celebrate it like you can’t believe!”<br />
Tickets are now on sale for What’s New Pussycat?<br />
at The REP Theatre, Birmingham. For more<br />
information about ticket prices and booking, visit<br />
www.birmingham-rep.co.uk<br />
Competition!<br />
J’AIME has teamed up with The REP Theatre, Birmingham, to offer readers the<br />
chance to win one of two pairs of tickets for the performance of the new musical<br />
What’s New Pussycat? at 7pm on October 14, <strong>2021</strong>.<br />
The winners will be part of the theatre’s special evening marking the building’s 50th<br />
birthday - a milestone in the theatre’s history.<br />
For your chance to win, simply answer the following question:<br />
What’s New Pussycat? is based on the music of which legendary musician?<br />
Send your answer, along with your name and contact details, to<br />
competitions@jaimemagazine.com with the subject What’s New Pussycat?<br />
Competition by 5pm on Sunday, October 10.<br />
Terms and conditions apply. No cash or alternative prize is available. Visit<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com for further details.<br />
8<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com
F E AT U R E<br />
Head Upstairs for<br />
fine dining feasts<br />
AS FORMER HEAD CHEF OF MICHELIN-STARRED ADAM’S RESTAURANT IN BIRMINGHAM, TOM SHEPHERD HAS<br />
AN IMPECCABLE FINE DINING PEDIGREE, WHICH HE IS BRINGING BACK TO HIS HOME CITY OF LICHFIELD WITH<br />
THE OPENING OF HIS FIRST SOLO RESTAURANT THIS MONTH. AMY NORBURY DISCOVERS MORE<br />
CHEF TOM SHEPHERD IS OPENING HIS FIRST<br />
RESTAURANT - ABOVE HIS DAD’S SHOP<br />
Tom Shepherd was supposed to be the fourth<br />
generation to join the family business. With three<br />
generations of jewellers before him, it would have<br />
been no surprise if he had followed in their footsteps.<br />
But Tom had other ideas. It was clear early on that<br />
his ambitions lay elsewhere, and after a stellar career<br />
in some of the country’s top kitchens, culminating in<br />
a position as head chef at Michelin-starred Adam’s<br />
Restaurant in Birmingham there’s no question that<br />
forging his own path was the right choice.<br />
And now, 33-year-old Tom is undergoing a<br />
homecoming of sorts, both back to his home city of<br />
Lichfield, and to take his place - of a fashion - within<br />
the family business.<br />
His ambitious new restaurant, Upstairs by Tom<br />
Shepherd, opens this month, in what is probably the<br />
most hotly anticipated foodie openings Lichfield has<br />
ever seen. And named Upstairs, because it is based<br />
on the top floor of his father’s jewellery shop.<br />
Tom’s father, Paul, runs City Jewellers, which now<br />
occupies the former premises of long-running<br />
Lichfield business Salloways in a prime city centre<br />
spot on Bore Street.<br />
“My dad purchased the property from Nigel<br />
Salloway in March 2019, and in the beginning there<br />
was no thought in any of our minds that we would<br />
turn the upstairs into a restaurant,” says Tom.<br />
After the shop itself had been refurbished, Tom<br />
and Paul were toying with ideas for the upstairs<br />
space, looking at potentially converting the former<br />
workshops, storage and offices into office space to<br />
rent. But as soon as Tom set foot inside the cavernous<br />
space, he had other ideas.<br />
After consulting with several designers about the<br />
possibility, Tom pitched the idea of using the space<br />
to open his first solo restaurant.<br />
“It all just felt right,” says Tom. “I’d been at Adam’s<br />
from mid-2017 until the last service of 2019 and<br />
10 www.jaimemagazine.com
learned what I wanted to learn; we were number one<br />
in the country on TripAdvisor and number seven in<br />
the world. I’d gone to a well-established restaurant<br />
and I wanted to evolve it, I didn’t want to reinvent<br />
it because it didn’t need reinventing. And for the<br />
customers to understand that and to think so highly<br />
of it, was the finishing line for me.<br />
“It was the right time to do my own thing and open<br />
my own place. I spoke to several designers, who came<br />
to see the space and saw my vision, so we sought<br />
investment for the project.”<br />
As 2020 rolled around, Tom had secured investment<br />
and it was full steam ahead. Until the coronavirus<br />
pandemic hit.<br />
“At that point I was helping Aktar Islam out at<br />
Pulperia, which he had just opened,” says Tom.<br />
“We’re good friends, and I thought it would give me<br />
a good insight as to what I was hopefully going to be<br />
doing opening my own place.<br />
“Then I got a call from my investor saying his<br />
business had fallen off a cliff, so to speak, with<br />
cancellations all over the world, and had I heard<br />
about the coronavirus?”<br />
Tom admits that, initially, the hospitality industry<br />
in the UK was quite dismissive of the virus and<br />
its impact. Fast forward some 18 months, and<br />
hospitality has been one of the worst affected trades.<br />
“On the Monday of the week before lockdown,<br />
when Boris came out and said that no-one should go<br />
out for restaurant reservations, it was the nail in the<br />
coffin for us both at Pulperia and with the restaurant,<br />
and a week later, the hospitality industry closed<br />
completely,” says Tom.<br />
“It sounds strange, but those first three months<br />
of 2020 were so fast-paced and I was just going<br />
along with a lot of things and didn’t have time to<br />
really decide if these were the best decisions, I was<br />
just trying to focus on my dream of opening the<br />
restaurant.<br />
“So the pandemic, and the ‘stop’ button that was<br />
created, actually came at an incredible time.”<br />
With renovation work at the restaurant barely<br />
started, Tom decided to shelve the project for the<br />
time being, and take a step back to reassess.<br />
In No Man’s Land job-wise - Tom hadn’t been<br />
employed at Pulperia, nor had his own business been<br />
set up yet - an unexpected opportunity arose, when<br />
he was approached by Lichfield’s own Sauce Supper<br />
Club about setting up a fine dining takeaway service.<br />
“I had a pop-up event set up with Beth and Jon<br />
Toovey from Sauce Supper Club at St Johns House<br />
for the end of March, which had to be postponed,”<br />
says Tom.<br />
“About two weeks later, Beth called and said that it<br />
looked like the virus wasn’t going anywhere anytime<br />
soon, but takeaways were still an option so what did I<br />
think about going down that route?”<br />
The result was Tom and Sauce Supper Club’s<br />
Dine at Home collaborations, which saw customers<br />
presented with a luxurious three-course dinner,<br />
expertly prepared by Tom and his team, before being<br />
boxed up and delivered to their homes for them to<br />
finish off and enjoy.<br />
“It was a product where we put 99 per cent of the<br />
work in, and then it’s easy for people to finish off<br />
at home; all the work, all the flavour goes in before<br />
the end process and then it’s just a case of people<br />
popping it in the oven,” says Tom.<br />
THE STUNNING RESTAURANT<br />
OPENS THIS MONTH<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com<br />
11
Beth managed to source kitchen space at Manor<br />
Farm, in Hints, to house the operation, and the<br />
project got off to a flying start, selling out 40 boxes in<br />
the first week.<br />
“Me and Mikey, my sous chef, prepped early in the<br />
week and had a couple of late nights but it was going<br />
fine, then come Friday when the boxes were going<br />
out, we’d underestimated just how much would need<br />
doing so were there until around half three in the<br />
morning,” says Tom.<br />
“It wasn’t long before we were selling out of 100<br />
boxes week in, week out, which was insane because<br />
there were only four or five of us working on it. Then<br />
we started couriering the boxes nationwide, which<br />
went really well, and fast-forward to this year and it<br />
wasn’t until the whole hospitality industry reopened<br />
that we started to see a little bit of a lull, although we<br />
still had a really good, regular customer base.<br />
“My ethos working in Michelin-starred restaurants<br />
has always been to put as much flavour as possible<br />
into our products, and that didn’t change with the<br />
boxes.<br />
“We nailed it; Beth from the ideas and logistics<br />
perspective and me from the food, and straight away<br />
the customers got into it and straight away it was<br />
awesome.”<br />
As the demand grew, Beth and Tom had to move<br />
the Dine at Home operation to bigger premises,<br />
with Beth taking over the former Mabel’s Tearoom<br />
at Curborough to create what is now brunch cafe<br />
Thyme Kitchen. And with Beth having a restaurant<br />
to run, as well as a home to restart Sauce Supper<br />
Club events, and Tom heart still set on running his<br />
own place, it was a natural end for the dining box<br />
operation.<br />
The success of Dine at Home has, however, given<br />
Tom a whole new customer base who are eagerly<br />
anticipating more from the chef. It also allowed him<br />
to make connections in the community which would<br />
eventually help with pulling Upstairs together.<br />
“I was cooking at people’s houses when we were<br />
able to do that, and I was out there delivering boxes<br />
too; I very much believe in leading from the front,”<br />
says Tom. “During that time I met all these people;<br />
a structural engineer, an electrician, a whole new<br />
group of people in trades who then offered to come<br />
down to the restaurant and help out and quote for<br />
the work.”<br />
With work at Upstairs progressing at a rapid pace<br />
ahead of the opening this month, the booking system<br />
has been inundated with enquiries; some 1,000<br />
bookings have already been made, with Friday and<br />
Saturday nights fully booked for the rest of the year.<br />
Diners will be able to look forward to Tom’s flavour<br />
led, produce-driven menus inspired by the seasons<br />
and surroundings. The 24-cover dining room will<br />
serve a five and seven-course tasting menu, a threecourse<br />
lunch menu and a traditional three-course<br />
Sunday lunch. The Kitchen Table, located directly in<br />
the kitchen, is available for up to four guests who will<br />
get to enjoy a unique hands on experience watching<br />
the brigade create, cook and serve their dishes.<br />
“We want to create a restaurant which, in my<br />
opinion, is yet to be seen in Lichfield.,” says Tom.<br />
“We really want to bring a new experience, and we<br />
hope that when people walk through the door they<br />
notice that difference in delivery. They can sit down,<br />
have some incredible food, because how we source<br />
and how we cook is what I’ve learned throughout<br />
my whole career and that’s not going to change, it’s<br />
going to be elevated even here.<br />
“We want to produce a restaurant that will fulfill, and<br />
hopefully exceed, people’s expectations.<br />
“I’ve worked in some incredible restaurants and with<br />
some incredible people, and it’s time now to go it<br />
alone. And the fact that it’s here in Lichfield, above<br />
my dad’s shop, couldn’t be more perfect.”<br />
Upstairs by Tom Shepherd opens at 25 Bore<br />
Street, Lichfield, on October 8. For more<br />
details visit www.upstairs.restaurant or<br />
email reservations@upstairs.restaurant for<br />
booking enquiries.<br />
12 www.jaimemagazine.com
F E AT U R E<br />
24 Carrott gold entertainment<br />
OLD FRIENDS JASPER CARROTT AND BEV BEVAN ARE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN AND ON THE<br />
ROAD, WITH TICKETS FOR THEIR 2022 SHOWS AT THE LICHFIELD GARRICK NOW ON SALE.<br />
TONY COLLINS CAUGHT UP WITH THE DUO AHEAD OF THEIR TOUR<br />
JASPER CARROTT HAS<br />
PLAYED TO HUGE<br />
AUDIENCES OVER THE<br />
YEARS<br />
They started out as 11-year-old boys sitting next to<br />
each other in school who went on to perform in soldout<br />
arenas in front of thousands of fans.<br />
And now, nearly seven decades on, those wide-eyed<br />
youngsters have overcome 18 months of lockdown to<br />
reunite once again.<br />
Schoolboys Robert Davis and Beverley Bevan, who<br />
occupied adjoining desks at Moseley Grammar for<br />
five years, went on to achieve enormous success as<br />
BAFTA Award-winning comedian Jasper Carrott<br />
and the acclaimed drummer of The Move, Electric<br />
Light Orchestra and Black Sabbath.<br />
They are now touring the UK with Stand Up and<br />
Rock, which features the timeless humour of Jasper<br />
and the music of The Bev Bevan Band with special<br />
guest, former Ocean Colour Scene guitarist Andy<br />
Bennett.<br />
Jasper, who met up with Bev at The Belfry Hotel and<br />
Resort near Sutton Coldfield, said of Stand Up and<br />
Rock: “It’s not a unique show but nobody else does<br />
it, nobody else mixes comedy and rock and roll as a<br />
featured evening.”<br />
The origins of the show go back to the early 90s and<br />
a previous band that featured Jasper, Bev and Black<br />
Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi.<br />
Jasper explains, “We had a group called Belch that<br />
was made up of Black Sabbath, ELO and Carrott,<br />
hence Belch, and we just did some silly things. From<br />
that came the roots of Stand Up and Rock.”<br />
But Jasper and Bev, who was inducted into the Rock<br />
and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, go back a whole lot<br />
further.<br />
Jasper recalls, “The first person I sat next to at<br />
grammar school when I was 11 years old was him,”<br />
14 www.jaimemagazine.com
pointing at Bev. Bev chips in, “Our<br />
names were alphabetical. I was Bevan.”<br />
Jasper continues: “And I was Davis, so it<br />
just happened we were on the front row<br />
together. That was 66 years ago and we<br />
went through all five years.”<br />
The schoolmates went to work at the<br />
same Birmingham department store,<br />
The Beehive, as trainee buyers.<br />
“That’s what they said!” says Bev. “We<br />
swept the floor and made the tea. I<br />
ended up in carpets but only stayed one<br />
year. I only got the job because it paid<br />
for the HP payments on my drums.”<br />
Jasper, who stayed at The Beehive for<br />
three years, did not share Bev’s showbiz<br />
ambitions at that time.<br />
“I was going to be an entrepreneur. I started a folk<br />
club (The Boggery) in 1969 and was always going to<br />
be a promoter and run clubs and manage people.<br />
“I was just compering at the club and singing silly<br />
funny songs and one thing led to another and people<br />
started asking me to do their clubs.<br />
“I was getting £12 a gig and petrol. The equivalent<br />
today would probably be £500 or £600. So it was<br />
very lucrative to the point where I realised my future<br />
JASPER CARROTT IS RENOWNED<br />
FOR HIS TIMELESS HUMOUR<br />
JASPER AND BEV HAVE BEEN FRIENDS<br />
SINCE THEY WERE 11 YEARS OLD<br />
lay in entertaining and not in promoting.”<br />
Bev’s music career was already taking off, having left<br />
Denny Laine and the Diplomats to form The Move<br />
in 1966 and then on to ELO with Jeff Lynne.<br />
Despite the pals not seeing much of each other with<br />
ELO spending a lot of the 70s in America, they<br />
found time to be best man at each other’s wedding -<br />
Bev in 1970 and Jasper in 1972.<br />
The pandemic has prevented them working together<br />
since a Stand Up and Rock show in November 2019,<br />
so how have they coped during lockdown?<br />
“Speaking for myself, just taking it day by day,” says<br />
Jasper. “I haven’t seen my son and daughter (actress<br />
Lucy Davis), who live in LA, since November 2019<br />
although I’ve done Zoom with them.”<br />
The comedian recalls a strange feeling from the same<br />
time.<br />
“It’s funny, Bev and I were in the pub and I had this<br />
overwhelming feeling of foreboding for next year.<br />
It was very troublesome because I couldn’t explain<br />
it. It was a very disturbing feeling, and when it (the<br />
pandemic) all kicked off I started to think that must<br />
be it. That’s the only explanation I’ve ever had.”<br />
Bev adds: “I remember it well, I have always kept<br />
diaries and I wrote it in the diary ‘Jasper’s in a weird<br />
mood, he’s had this terrible foreboding about next<br />
year’. It was quite spooky.”<br />
Bev, who reveals he caught COVID this summer<br />
but only suffered mild symptoms, spent his time in<br />
lockdown writing songs.<br />
“For me it was quite good, to begin with anyway. I<br />
wrote so many songs during lockdown and managed<br />
to record a whole album (Riding Rainbows, with<br />
separate band, Quill), so I’ve been really busy.”<br />
Jasper admits to a “mixed feeling” about performing<br />
again.<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com<br />
15
JASPER CARROTT AND BEV<br />
BEVAN ARE SET TO REUNITE<br />
FOR THEIR STAND UP AND<br />
ROCK TOUR<br />
“It’s exciting, but the trepidation, not having worked<br />
for that long. It will take me a while to get up to<br />
speed. While you know the routines and stuff, it’s all<br />
the little bits that enhance it like little remarks that<br />
come into your head and pop out.<br />
“I’m very fortunate I’ve had a successful career so the<br />
money isn’t part and parcel of it for me personally. I<br />
do it purely for the enjoyment.<br />
“It means a lot to the band, I appreciate that, which<br />
is one of the reasons I continue to do it, but it is very<br />
enjoyable. Adrenaline is one helluva drug and it’s<br />
very difficult to come off it.”<br />
Bev agrees: “Rehearsals are just a means to an end<br />
but as soon as you get on a stage and get that crowd<br />
reaction it’s fantastic, it’s a real buzz. There’s nothing<br />
to replace it.”<br />
Jasper’s success began with chart-topping comedy<br />
record, Funky Moped, in 1975, and led to top TV<br />
shows including BAFTA Award-winning Carrott’s<br />
Lib and BBC series The Detectives with Robert<br />
Powell.<br />
His 24 Carrott Gold live show in 2004 broke box<br />
office records, with 72,000 people at the Birmingham<br />
National Indoor Arena.<br />
“I have to keep pinching myself really. I haven’t<br />
done TV for about ten years and it’s<br />
great because I don’t get the hassle<br />
of being recognised. I’ve got the best<br />
of both worlds in the fact I can still<br />
draw a crowd and yet I can be fairly<br />
anonymous.<br />
“One of my greatest pleasures was<br />
when my grandchildren came to see me<br />
and were really knocked out. For weeks<br />
they were doing the routines.”<br />
Bev also feels fortunate in his career. “I<br />
was always going to be a drummer and<br />
I think I would have made a living as a<br />
drummer, but luckily I did get into The<br />
Move, ELO and Black Sabbath, and to<br />
be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is<br />
pretty special.”<br />
Alongside larger theatres, Stand Up<br />
and Rock will also be performing<br />
in smaller venues, so is that more<br />
enjoyable?<br />
Jasper says: “For me personally one<br />
of the joys is getting back to the basic<br />
roots of stand-up comedy, eyeball to<br />
eyeball with the audience.<br />
“Yes, I have done the 10,000 seaters,<br />
but essentially people pay £25 to see<br />
you on television because they are just<br />
looking at the screens at the side of you. When you<br />
do those, you tend to talk at the audience and not to<br />
them.<br />
“One of the great joys of doing the 500, 600 seaters<br />
is going back in a way to those folk club days. That<br />
was one of the reasons why I kept doing it since we<br />
started Stand Up and Rock. I rediscovered that sheer<br />
joy of creating laughter.”<br />
Bev adds: “I generally love a small theatre where you<br />
can actually see the audience and they can see you.”<br />
So, what does the future hold?<br />
“Staying alive is probably one of our main<br />
ambitions,” jokes Jasper.<br />
“We’ll just take it tour by tour. Ken Dodd was 90 and<br />
still getting up on stage. I don’t know how long I can<br />
continue, but I will do so until I know I can’t do it as<br />
well as I should be doing it. But hopefully it’s a way<br />
off.<br />
“And I can always become a drummer!” he adds,<br />
sharing one more joke with his old friend.<br />
Jasper Carrott’s Stand Up and Rock tour<br />
with the Bev Bevan Band comes to Lichfield<br />
Garrick from April 27 to 30, 2022. Visit<br />
www.lichfieldgarrick.com for details.<br />
16 www.jaimemagazine.com
BOOK YOUR<br />
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LIVE THE LIFE YOU<br />
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Scan to find<br />
out more<br />
AY_005225_ST_GEORGES_PRESS_AD_REGIONAL_216x303_JAMIE_AW_v2.indd 1 23/08/<strong>2021</strong> 17:01
P R O P E RTY<br />
Property of the Month<br />
WE TAKE A SNEAKY PEEK AT SOME OF THE HOTTEST PROPERTIES ON THE MARKET IN THE AREA<br />
EACH MONTH. THIS MONTH’S SELECTION IS A SUPERB SEVEN-BEDROOM DETACHED HOUSE WITH<br />
MORE THAN 7,000 SQ FT OF FAMILY ACCOMMODATION ON THE EXCLUSIVE FOUR OAKS ESTATE<br />
Park House, The Orchards, Four Oaks Estate, Sutton Coldfield: £2,795,000<br />
On the market with Aston Knowles: 0121 362 7878<br />
THE AGENT SAYS: Park House is a modern two storey<br />
home set in a private location on the highly desirable Four<br />
Oaks Estate.<br />
The property is approached from Ladywood Road via<br />
an impressive double driveway entrance, which leads to a<br />
beautiful oak entrance door. From the Italian marble tiled<br />
reception hall the well-laid out ground floor includes a large<br />
drawing room opening into a stunning orangery. From the<br />
drawing room is the family area with guest cloakroom, a<br />
large games room with bar area is a fabulous area for families<br />
to entertain, this area also boasts a cinema room which has<br />
individual electric sockets for cinema seating and has been<br />
sound insulated for optimum viewing experiences.<br />
An open plan kitchen/breakfast room is fitted with<br />
quality cream shaker style wall and floor cupboards with<br />
complementary Quartz work surfaces and Italian solid<br />
marble flooring.<br />
The leisure suite is accessed from the kitchen and features<br />
the swimming pool and hot tub - available by separate<br />
negotiation - shower room and changing room.<br />
The first floor accommodation features a spacious master<br />
bedroom with an attractive en suite bathroom and stunning<br />
dressing room fitted out with quality cream Hammonds<br />
wardrobes. Three further double bedrooms open off the<br />
landing and are served by the family bathroom, beyond<br />
which is bedroom three which has a dressing area and ensuite<br />
shower room.<br />
The guest bedroom is approached through the first floor<br />
laundry room from the central landing which could easily<br />
function as a sitting room with kitchenette ideal if the<br />
spacious guest bedroom and en suite shower room are used as<br />
an annexe.<br />
W E L O V E : T H E F AN T AS T I C L E I S UR E F A C I L I T IE S<br />
AND C IN EM A.<br />
18 www.jaimemagazine.com
PREMIUM SALES<br />
£963K *<br />
AVERAGE SALES<br />
PRICE ACHIEVED<br />
95.9% *<br />
OF THE AVERAGE<br />
ASKING PRICE<br />
ACHIEVED<br />
ONE IN A MILLION<br />
ASTON KNOWLES<br />
HAVE SOLD OVER £32M OF PREMIUM PROPERTIES IN 12 MONTHS!<br />
Our numbers are pretty impressive, just like the properties we manage. That is why we<br />
are the No.1 choice for premium property sales in Sutton Coldfield. Our properties<br />
generate a significant amount of interest and as buyers return to the market, there is<br />
a strong demand for premium residential property in your area.<br />
So if you are considering selling now or in the future, there is no better time to contact<br />
our expert team for a NO-OBLIGATION FREE MARKET APPRAISAL of your property.<br />
0121 362 7878<br />
enquiries@astonknowles.com<br />
www.astonknowles.com<br />
@astonknowles
I N T E R I O R S<br />
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If a long, luxurious soak is your idea of heaven then<br />
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I N T E R I O R S<br />
Pumpkin<br />
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IF you love nothing more than snuggling up on the sofa<br />
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to consider how to turn our living spaces into a cosy<br />
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Take a little inspiration from the changing leaves and<br />
cooler weather to bring a new season vibe into your home;<br />
think earthy tones, spiced candles and textures galore.<br />
Texture plays a huge role in creating a cosy atmosphere, so<br />
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velvet for options which will last well beyond October 31.<br />
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24 www.jaimemagazine.com
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Jaime_DoubleSpread_October<strong>2021</strong>.indd 1 22/09/<strong>2021</strong> 14:49
Jaime_DoubleSpread_October<strong>2021</strong>.indd 2 22/09/<strong>2021</strong> 14:49
F E AT U R E<br />
A magical adventure<br />
A SUTTON COLDFIELD MUM HAS FULFILLED A LIFELONG AMBITION BY PENNING A<br />
CHILDREN’S BOOK - INSPIRED BY HER DAUGHTER. AMY NORBURY DISCOVERS MORE<br />
AUTHOR CATHERINE HAIR AND HER DAUGHTER<br />
IMOGEN, THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE BOOK<br />
Catherine Hair has always loved reading. From a<br />
young age, she would immerse herself in the tales of<br />
Roald Dahl, the fantastic escapes of Enid Blyton and<br />
more.<br />
When her daughter Imogen, now five, was born, that<br />
love of reading translated into a cherished bedtime<br />
routine which would see Catherine and her husband,<br />
Nick, deliver not one but three stories each and every<br />
night.<br />
So perhaps it’s unsurprising that the 41-year-old has<br />
always aspired to write a children’s book of her own.<br />
When the coronavirus hit the UK early last year,<br />
sending the country into lockdown, Catherine<br />
decided that it was time to stop dreaming, and start<br />
doing.<br />
“I was reading stories to Imogen every night and<br />
I thought that I’d love to write something which<br />
included her, which could be something she’d keep<br />
forever,” says Catherine.<br />
Catherine started writing her tale during the<br />
first lockdown last spring, using the project as a<br />
distraction from the chaos of juggling work with<br />
homeschooling.<br />
“It was a bit full-on, but my husband always says<br />
I need a hundred things going on or I get bored,”<br />
laughs Catherine.<br />
“It was good to have something fun and positive to<br />
focus on, to take my mind off the stress of everything!<br />
“I’ve always loved writing, ever since I was at school.<br />
It was lovely to have a creative outlet, because even<br />
though I work in a creative industry, it’s not on the<br />
creative side. The book has been a passion project<br />
for me; I wanted to show Imogen that if you’re really<br />
passionate about something, you can do it.”<br />
Catherine’s book tells the tale of Boodle, a magic<br />
bedtime bear, and his best friend Imogen, who makes<br />
a wish to go to space - just in time for Intergalactic<br />
Friendship Day. Each planet they visit has aliens<br />
30 www.jaimemagazine.com
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getting ready for the party celebrations, but they<br />
all have some challenges that they can’t solve. Can<br />
Boodle and Imogen help to make sure the party is a<br />
success before it’s too late?<br />
“I wanted to do something that wasn’t a natural<br />
association for a girl, like be an astronaut; I wanted it<br />
to be a bit aspirational in that way,” says Catherine.<br />
“I also wanted it to be a bit educational, but in a<br />
fun way, so there are all these different planets that<br />
Imogen goes to with her magic bear and there are<br />
different problems to solve along the way.”<br />
Imogen meets groups of aliens on each planet who<br />
are all doing different tasks to get ready for the party<br />
and, along with Boodle the Magic Bear, helps them<br />
to get past their problems so they can celebrate<br />
Intergalactic Friendship Day in style.<br />
“All of the different aliens are dealing with different<br />
emotions, such as anger, worry, anxiety, and Imogen<br />
and Boodle do kind gestures to help,” says Catherine.<br />
“Then at the end of the book there are some fun<br />
facts about space as well as puzzles.<br />
“There are also some questions to prompt talking to<br />
your child about feelings, because I always enjoy that<br />
when I’m reading books with Imogen.”<br />
As well as writing the story, Catherine - with<br />
Imogen’s help - designed each of the aliens in the<br />
book. Handily a family member, Matt Garbutt, is an<br />
artist and helped to bring Catherine’s designs to life.<br />
“Matt does a lot of animation, he doesn’t normally<br />
do children’s books but he was happy to get<br />
involved,” says Catherine. “He did so many versions<br />
of each of the characters to get them all right; at one<br />
point we had 25 Imogens to choose from!<br />
“I really wanted to get Imogen’s cheeky personality<br />
across, and getting her facial expressions right in<br />
response to how the aliens were<br />
feeling was really important<br />
too, because I think when kids<br />
are a bit younger and you’re<br />
reading to them, they tend to<br />
look more at the pictures.<br />
“When I started writing, I had<br />
no idea as to how much detail<br />
you need to think about when<br />
you’re creating a picture book!”<br />
Catherine chose to publish<br />
Boodle and Imogen’s adventure<br />
directly through Amazon,<br />
who deal with the printing<br />
and distribution of the book.<br />
A library tour last autumn<br />
was postponed due to the<br />
BOODLE THE<br />
MAGIC BEAR<br />
IS AVAILABLE<br />
FROM AMAZON,<br />
PRICED £4.99<br />
UK going back into lockdown, and with a full time<br />
job, Catherine hasn’t had enough time to devote to<br />
promoting the book.<br />
“When we’re allowed to, we’re going to do the<br />
library tour, which will hopefully enable us to take<br />
Boodle and Imogen’s story out to more people,” she<br />
says.<br />
Catherine was determined that her book would<br />
make a difference, so profits from sales of Boodle the<br />
Magic Bear will be donated to mental health charity<br />
Young Minds.<br />
“There are so many children suffering with mental<br />
health issues in the wake of the pandemic, so I<br />
wanted to use any profits from the book to go<br />
towards a charity to help, and came across Young<br />
Minds,” says Catherine.<br />
“It’s a charity specifically for young people who need<br />
that type of support. I do worry that the next big<br />
epidemic will be a mental health epidemic, and it’s<br />
hard to estimate just how much children have been<br />
affected by the fallout of the pandemic.<br />
“I grew up with a mum who had mental health<br />
issues, and I’ve got friends whose children are<br />
suffering with more anxiety after the upheaval of<br />
being in and out of school. So I thought it would<br />
be good to give something back to people who are<br />
struggling after the crazy time we’ve been through.<br />
“I’m really grateful that Imogen is a bit younger,<br />
so has probably been less aware of everything<br />
that’s happened - she just enjoyed mummy’s<br />
homeschooling!”<br />
Boodle the Magic Bear, by Catherine Hair, is<br />
available to buy now at www.amazon.co.uk<br />
priced £4.99.<br />
32 www.jaimemagazine.com
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F O O D & D R I N K<br />
Country dining in style<br />
AFTER AN IMPRESSIVE MAKEOVER, THE MEYNELL INGRAM ARMS AT HOAR CROSS<br />
HAS BECOME A GASTROPUB ON THE RISE, AS AMY NORBURY DISCOVERED<br />
The Meynell lngram Arms is undergoing something<br />
of a renaissance. After half a decade in the<br />
doldrums, the once-popular country inn was given a<br />
new lease of life when it was taken over by Berkeley<br />
Inns, underwent a serious makeover and reopened to<br />
great acclaim in May 2019.<br />
Nestled in the picturesque village of Hoar Cross -<br />
and counting luxury spa giant Hoar Cross Hall as<br />
a near neighbour - the pub has become something<br />
of a destination for diners and drinkers looking for<br />
anything from a quick tipple after work to a fullblown<br />
celebratory meal.<br />
The Meynell’s meteoric rise from the ashes saw<br />
it named as Newcomer of the Year at this year’s<br />
prestigious Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub<br />
awards, with the judging panel naming the pub a<br />
‘fantastic newcomer to the gastropub world’, which<br />
‘opened with a bang and has continued to wow<br />
visitors with its menu and drinks offer’.<br />
Part of The Meynell’s appeal is the range of different<br />
experiences a visitor can have under one roof.<br />
The main bar offers a traditional, cosy country<br />
pub space, perfect for a country walk pit stop; think<br />
open fires, tiled floor, wooden tables and a homely<br />
atmosphere.<br />
But venture into the main restaurant and it’s a<br />
different story. This beautifully designed space offers<br />
a stylish and elegant place to dine, ideal for a date<br />
night with your other half, or a special occasion<br />
dinner.<br />
Over in Sam’s Bar, it’s gin serves and cocktails<br />
aplenty, while the stunning courtyard offers al fresco<br />
dining, including private garden pods with cosy<br />
seating, which are wired for sound and scream ‘girls’<br />
night out’.<br />
My colleague and I were invited<br />
to sample The Meynell’s bountiful<br />
offerings for ourselves, arriving<br />
on an impressively busy midweek<br />
evening to find the car park packed<br />
and the courtyard buzzing.<br />
With fiery heaters creating a toasty<br />
warmth whatever the weather, and<br />
pretty festoon lighting illuminating<br />
the stylish space, it’s no wonder<br />
that The Meynell placed in The<br />
Times’ roundup of the best UK<br />
pubs for outdoor seating and beer<br />
gardens.<br />
We made our way inside, and were<br />
34<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com
shown to our cosy table in the main<br />
restaurant.<br />
A pre-dinner raspberry gin fizz cocktail<br />
- a heady combination of raspberry gin,<br />
raspberry syrup and Prosecco - from the<br />
extensive cocktail menu went down a<br />
treat as we examined the food choices.<br />
As a gluten-free diner, my colleague<br />
found she had enough choice, although<br />
she was mildly disappointed that there<br />
was no gluten-free base option for the<br />
pizzas.<br />
To start, I opted for the heritage tomato<br />
and mozzarella salad, with prosciutto,<br />
herb croutes, avocado and a balsamic<br />
dressing, £7.50. A classic combination of flavours, it<br />
was a light yet satisfying start to the meal.<br />
My colleague was impressed with her Hebridean<br />
smoked salmon and king prawn cocktail with glutenfree<br />
bread, £9.50. Fat, juicy king prawns slathered<br />
in a tasty Marie Rose sauce, alongside thick slices of<br />
punchy salmon and ribbons of crisp little gem lettuce<br />
made for an elegant take on a retro classic.<br />
We also shared a delicious portion of - happily<br />
gluten-free - halloumi fries with garlic mayo, £4.90.<br />
Onto the main event, and I was won over by the<br />
corn-fed Normandy chicken breast with homemade<br />
macaroni cheese, baked mushroom and leek, £14.90.<br />
Now, when it comes to comfort food, macaroni<br />
cheese is right up there for me; unfortunately I’m the<br />
only one in my house with that opinion so it’s not<br />
something which features on our dinner repertoire at<br />
home. Happily, The Meynell’s mac and cheese really<br />
hit the spot, with al dente pasta bound in unctuous,<br />
gooey cheese sauce and seasoned to perfection. The<br />
chicken was also well-cooked, moist and tender; it<br />
was certainly a hearty plateful.<br />
My colleague’s gluten-free version of the chargrilled<br />
chicken burger, £12.90, was piled with crispy<br />
bacon, brie, avocado and sweet chilli dressing and<br />
accompanied by chunky chips and house slaw.<br />
Another generous portion, it was a pleasing offering<br />
with a good balance of flavours.<br />
A side of seasonal vegetables, £3.50, ordered under<br />
the pretence of being a bit healthy, was a well-cooked<br />
and varied selection although, dare I say it, a little<br />
surplus to requirements.<br />
Now, strictly speaking, we were both full enough to<br />
give dessert a miss. But in for a penny, we couldn’t<br />
resist the lure of the sweet treats, both opting for The<br />
Meynell’s signature offering.<br />
The Meynell Mess, £7.50, a Hoar Cross version<br />
of the Eton classic, was a dessert and then some.<br />
A knickerbocker glass piled high with ice creams,<br />
meringue, chocolate brownie chunks, berries,<br />
marshmallows and more, it was a powerhouse pud<br />
able to satisfy even the sweetest tooth.<br />
At the tail end of an already substantial meal, my<br />
colleague and I each manage to make an impressive<br />
dent in this behemoth of a dessert before sadly<br />
having to admit defeat. Perhaps, with hindsight, this<br />
is one dish more suitable for sharing.<br />
In a relatively short space of time, The Meynell has<br />
gone from derelict to a stalwart of the gastropub<br />
scene.<br />
And whether you want cosy tradition, stylish dining<br />
or a party vibe, The Meynell ticks all of the boxes.<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com<br />
35
F O O D & D R I N K<br />
Staffordshire on show<br />
THE MIDLANDS’ NEWEST FOODIE WEEKENDER, LOVE CHEESE LIVE, COMES TO STAFFORDSHIRE<br />
ON <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 22 AND 23, WITH A WHOLE ROOM DEDICATED TO SHOWCASING THE BEST OF THE<br />
COUNTY. KATY EDGINGTON CAUGHT UP WITH TOP STAFFORDSHIRE CHEF THOM BATEMAN, WHO<br />
WILL BE TAKING TO THE STAGE OVER THE WEEKEND<br />
Autumn is well and truly here, bringing with it one<br />
of the biggest events on this year’s Midlands foodie<br />
calendar.<br />
Love Cheese Live and the International Cheese and<br />
Dairy Awards come to the Staffordshire County<br />
Showground on the 22 and 23 October, where you<br />
can indulge a passion for cheese combined with food,<br />
drink and celebrity chefs. More than 400 exhibitors<br />
and producers will showcase the finest dairy - and<br />
non-dairy - products at what promises to be a jampacked<br />
weekender.<br />
The Eat + Drink Staffordshire area will feature<br />
artisan food and drink producers from across the<br />
county, plus a host of incredible chefs including Rob<br />
Palmer, former head chef of Michelin-starred Peel’s<br />
at Hampton Manor, and Susie Mandleberg, head<br />
chef at Lichfield’s Thyme Kitchen, where Rob will<br />
soon be completing a residency.<br />
Also featuring in the line up of top chefs working<br />
in Staffordshire today is Thom Bateman - chef<br />
patron of The Flintlock at Cheddleton, Staffordshire<br />
Moorlands. We caught up with Thom to find<br />
out what to expect and why he’s excited about<br />
showcasing local produce at such a huge event.<br />
STAFFORDSHIRE CHEF<br />
THOM BATEMAN<br />
“When I was first contacted, I realised this was a big<br />
show and was keen to get involved, but I was a bit<br />
surprised to find out it was in Stafford,” Thom says.<br />
“With such an emerging dining scene in Staffordshire<br />
at the moment, backing it up with somewhere to go<br />
and learn more, get some produce, and meet local<br />
chefs is important, so that people realise great<br />
food is not just hidden away in London or<br />
other big cities.”<br />
Thom’s first restaurant, The Flintlock,<br />
opened in September 2020 after a full<br />
refurbishment during the turmoil of the<br />
pandemic. The canalside dining room<br />
serves elegant food, led by the seasons and<br />
beautifully plated: Thom describes his<br />
cooking style as “spontaneous, creative and<br />
considerate of the dining experience”.<br />
Passionate about sustainable, local ingredients<br />
and building close relationships with<br />
suppliers, he is keen to spread the word<br />
about two producers - Staffordshire Cheese<br />
Company and Staffordshire Brewery - who<br />
are right on the restaurant’s doorstep.<br />
36 www.jaimemagazine.com
ROB PALMER TAKES OVER AT THYME<br />
KITCHEN – FOR JUST THREE MONTHS!<br />
At Hampton Manor, Rob led Peel’s restaurant to its first<br />
Michelin Star in 2016, along with 4 AA Rosettes - and retained<br />
them to this day. In a new chapter for Rob, before the opening<br />
of his first solo restaurant - Toffs by Rob Palmer in Solihull - he<br />
is going to take over the kitchen at Thyme Kitchen in Lichfield.<br />
Rob will be showcasing his fantastic new menu for Thyme<br />
Kitchen diners on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Book<br />
now for this exclusive opportunity during October, November<br />
and December.<br />
SUPPER CLUB FAVOURITE OLI MARTIN<br />
RETURNS TO LICHFIELD NOV 12/13TH<br />
MasterChef: The Professionals finalist Oli Martin has been<br />
Head Chef at Hipping Hall, Kirk Lonsdale for 6 years where he<br />
was awarded 4 AA Rosettes. Oli has decided to move on and<br />
has recently set up his own private catering company which is<br />
guesting at Thyme Kitchen! Oli will serve up a stunning tasting<br />
menu in November. Come along and hear all about his plans<br />
and enjoy a cracking night out with Sauce Supper Club at<br />
Thyme Kitchen.<br />
Book now - call 01543 264050<br />
E hello@saucesupperclub.co.uk<br />
www.saucesupperclub.uk
THOM IS CHEF PATRON OF THE<br />
FLINTLOCK IN CHEDDLETON<br />
“Staffordshire cheese is exceptional - it’s like cheddar,<br />
but better!” he insists. “We use it a lot and we<br />
hope to help promote it at the show. Likewise, the<br />
attention to detail that the Brewery put into making<br />
their range of beers lends them to so many uses aside<br />
from the obvious.”<br />
Thom has risen to social media fame in recent<br />
years through his popular Instagram account @<br />
chefthombateman (previously @bboxfood). It<br />
opened the door for him to work with comedian Jack<br />
Whitehall and FoodSlut on Taste of London, about<br />
which he says: “The exposure that’s given me has<br />
been great and it brings people to the restaurant who<br />
perhaps wouldn’t have known about it otherwise.”<br />
More recently, he has appeared at Tom Kerridge’s<br />
Pub in the Park at Marlow, an opportunity he<br />
believes was made possible by his enthusiastic social<br />
media following.<br />
Meanwhile back at The Flintlock,<br />
preparations for the festive season are<br />
well under way, with Christmas and New<br />
Year menus being finalised as we speak.<br />
“If I favoured a season it would be<br />
autumn or winter, definitely,” Thom<br />
adds. “There are elderberries and<br />
blackberries around at the moment, and<br />
we’re coming into game season with all<br />
that lovely venison, grouse, partridge, and<br />
so on. I’m a bit obsessed with Jerusalem<br />
artichokes - you can get them from<br />
abroad already but we don’t do that, so<br />
I’m looking forward to their UK season.”<br />
So, what can visitors expect to see from<br />
Thom when he cooks on the Eat + Drink<br />
Staffordshire stage?<br />
“I don’t do pedestrian! I bring<br />
something different wherever<br />
I go. The decision about what<br />
to make will be left fairly late<br />
to facilitate that process. It’s<br />
not going to be a dish we make<br />
a thousand times a week at<br />
The Flintlock. It becomes a<br />
more authentic experience<br />
then - the audience will see<br />
‘me’ a bit more. I’ll probably<br />
forage some bits and bobs.<br />
For Pub in the Park I foraged<br />
some elderberries along the<br />
canal, which left me with a few<br />
scratches!”<br />
Showcasing what the county<br />
and its chefs have to offer is<br />
what Thom is looking forward to most, although<br />
there is a well-known face he would love to see.<br />
“Even if Marco Pierre White told me off for<br />
something, I’d be happy,” he jokes. “Meeting famous<br />
chefs is grand, but watching people’s reactions and<br />
seeing their enjoyment of what you’re doing is much<br />
more valuable.”<br />
Online ticket sales for Love Cheese Live closed on<br />
30 September. Tickets are available on the door<br />
priced at £20 for adults, while under 16s go free.<br />
Tickets for demonstrations by Marco Pierre White,<br />
Matt Tebbutt, James Martin and Michel Roux Jr are<br />
just £5. Many more chefs and experts - including<br />
Thom - will be cooking on both Friday and Saturday<br />
with no booking needed. For more information, visit<br />
www.lovecheeselive.co.uk<br />
38<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com
Book now to celebrate Christmas & New Year at 4* Moor Hall Hotel & Spa in<br />
Sutton Coldfield. We have a huge choice of festive events plus dining and stays.<br />
Enjoy a delicious breakfast with Santa and Mrs Claus<br />
Available 20th, 21st, 22nd & 24th December<br />
Sit down to a three course lunch with a magic show<br />
and visit from Santa with a gift for all the children<br />
Available 28th November, 5th &11th December<br />
A great family event with a performance from Santa<br />
and his elves with lots of songs and dancing<br />
Available 18th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 24th December<br />
A fun evening for all the family<br />
Available 5th & 12th December<br />
Solve the ultimate crime of “whodunnit” with the<br />
Cluedo characters at our family event<br />
Available 20th December<br />
Includes a glass of Prosecco, three course meal,<br />
disco and photo booth<br />
Available on various dates<br />
Enjoy a festive Afternoon Tea with Christmas songs<br />
performed by our live choir<br />
Available 1st, 3rd, 10th, 13th, 15th December<br />
Sit down to a festive Afternoon Tea as our live performers<br />
sing songs from Michael Bublé<br />
Available 2nd & 7th December<br />
Enjoy a festive “whodunnit” with plenty of yuletide fun<br />
Available 30th November & 7th, 14th, 21st December<br />
Welcome in 2022 in style! Our evening includes 5<br />
course dinner, photo booth, disco and traditional piper<br />
Moor Hall Drive, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield B75 6LN<br />
0121 308 3751 www.moorhallhotel.co.uk
F O O D & D R I N K<br />
Village pub wins national award<br />
A LOCAL PUB HAS BEEN NAMED ONE OF THE BEST<br />
AROUND AT THE NATIONAL PUB AND BAR AWARDS<br />
The Red Lion in Newborough triumphed at a<br />
national awards ceremony, where it was named<br />
County Winners for Staffordshire.<br />
The National Pub and Bar Awards showcases the<br />
UK’s finest pubs and bars on a national scale, and<br />
awards are given to the best venues in 94 counties<br />
across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern<br />
Ireland.<br />
The Red Lion in Newborough, part of the Webb<br />
Hotel Group which also includes Moor Hall Hotel<br />
in Sutton Coldfield and The George Hotel in<br />
Lichfield, was announced as the Best Pub and<br />
Bar in Staffordshire, and managers Ryan and Gail<br />
Wheeldon picked up the prestigious award at the<br />
ceremony in London on September 6.<br />
Often described as a ‘hidden gem’, The Red Lion<br />
in Newborough is a traditional-style country pub<br />
where good food, great service, excellent value and a<br />
very warm welcome are guaranteed. The pub is very<br />
popular with locals and attracts many groups such as<br />
the local cricket club, parish council and shoots, as<br />
well as attracting more and more diners from outside<br />
the area.<br />
The food at The Red Lion is a modern twist on<br />
classic homemade pub food, but also with some<br />
MANAGERS RYAN AND GAIL<br />
WHEELDON PICK UP THEIR<br />
AWARD<br />
THE RED LION AT NEWBOROUGH WAS NAMED<br />
STAFFORDSHIRE PUB AND BAR OF THE YEAR<br />
experimental dishes. The locals love the rotisseriestyle<br />
chicken and the steaks sourced from the local<br />
butchers. The pub also offers a wide range of drinks<br />
including real ales, craft IPAs, gins and a cocktail<br />
menu.<br />
The pub is rated four-and-a-half out of five for food,<br />
service, value and atmosphere on TripAdvisor, and<br />
is listed 4th out of 124 restaurants in Burton upon<br />
Trent. The pub is rated five out of five on Facebook<br />
with 116 reviews.<br />
Husband and wife, Ryan and Gail Wheeldon, who<br />
manage the pub, said: “We are beyond thrilled to<br />
have won this prestigious award. It really means so<br />
much to us and The Red Lion team that we can<br />
celebrate this massive achievement and look forward<br />
to a positive future.<br />
“We entered the awards before the pandemic and<br />
we had lots of plans to develop the pub with themed<br />
evenings and events and become more involved with<br />
the local community. However, this all changed with<br />
the lockdown and we focused instead on helping the<br />
community by opening a village shop and takeaway<br />
service.<br />
“We then repainted the exterior of the pub and<br />
upgraded our garden and outside dining areas so<br />
that our customers could feel safer in returning to the<br />
pub when we reopened.”<br />
Visit The Red Lion in Newborough and find out for<br />
yourself why it is the Best Pub in Staffordshire. Check<br />
out the website at www.redlionnewborough.co.uk<br />
for more details.<br />
40 www.jaimemagazine.com
Autumn & Winter At The Deer Park<br />
CRUNCHING LEAVES, VIBRANT VIEWS AND THE RED-TINTED, GOLDEN HUES OF<br />
AUTUMN HAVE INSPIRED OUR NEW MENU WHICH MAKES THIS EARTHY SEASON THE<br />
PERFECT TIME TO VISIT THE DEER PARK. NEW SEASONAL MENU FROM <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 1ST.<br />
Trick or Treat Street in The Woodland Walk<br />
New for <strong>2021</strong> our spooky, fun filled ‘Trick or Treat<br />
Street in The Woodland Walk’, join us to wander<br />
from dusk to darkness from hidden door to ghostly<br />
gate in our haunted Woodland Walk… if you dare?<br />
Tickets Available Now, only £5.<br />
Fiendishly good ‘Hot Toddy’ or devilishly decadent<br />
‘hot chocolate’ plus a selection of spooky delights<br />
will be available to purchase in The Linhay until<br />
7.30pm. Could it be a trick of the light or do things<br />
really go ‘bump in the night’.<br />
SATURDAY 30 TH & SUNDAY 31 ST<br />
4.30-8PM<br />
Eton Taylor & SOS Lingerie Fashion Show<br />
Fashion Show with Christmas Market preview,<br />
£40 including a reception drink and canapes.<br />
Bar available. To reserve your ticket please phone<br />
01283384464 or email info@deerpark.farm<br />
and we’ll contact you.<br />
NOVEMBER 4 TH 7PM - 9.30PM<br />
Autumn / Winter Supper Clubs;<br />
<strong>OCTOBER</strong> 28 TH – SPOOKTACULAR TREATS<br />
NOVEMBER 25 TH – ‘GAME ON’<br />
DECEMBER 16 TH – FESTIVE SPECIAL<br />
The Deer Park Charity<br />
Christmas Market<br />
Friday 5th and Saturday 6th November 10am – 4pm<br />
50 handpicked local food and artisan stalls,<br />
come and meet some of our suppliers<br />
Instant Photos taken with Santa by Portfolio Photographic<br />
Free parking, refreshments available<br />
£3 entrance donation.<br />
The Deer Park is open 8.30am - 5pm, Tuesday - Sunday (closed<br />
Mondays) for Breakfast, Lunch and Light Bites without booking.<br />
We take bookings for Sunday Lunches (before 5pm previous<br />
Friday) and Afternoon Teas. Afternoon Teas are available on<br />
Thursday, Friday and Saturday.<br />
For further Information or to book for Supper Clubs, Afternoon<br />
Tea or Halloween ‘Trick or Treat Street in the Woodland Walk’<br />
please email info@deerpark.farm or call 01283384465<br />
MAKER LN, HOAR CROSS, BURTON-ON-TRENT DE13 8QR. TEL: 01283 384477<br />
MONDAY - CLOSED. TUESDAY - SUNDAY 8.30AM - 5.00PM. LAST ORDERS FOR FOOD 4.00PM<br />
DEER.PARK.FARM THE DEER PARK
F O O D & D R I N K<br />
Starry nights in Lichfield<br />
ACCLAIMED CHEF ROB PALMER IS TAKING OVER AT LICHFIELD’S THYME KITCHEN FOR<br />
EVENINGS THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE YEAR, BRINGING A TASTE OF THE CULINARY<br />
DELIGHTS WHICH WON HIM A MICHELIN STAR AT PEELS RESTAURANTS AT HAMPTON MANOR<br />
Thyme Kitchen has earned a stellar reputation<br />
for its bountiful brunch offerings and delectable<br />
evening feasts since opening last year as a base for<br />
Lichfield’s prestigious Sauce Supper Club, run by<br />
husband and wife team Beth and Jon Toovey.<br />
Sauce Supper Club delivers relaxed fine dining<br />
experiences through a series of pop-up kitchen<br />
events. Chefs from Michelin starred restaurants<br />
and highly commended chefs come along to<br />
showcase their food and talents with the emphasis<br />
on bringing amazing food experiences to new<br />
audiences.<br />
Throughout October, November and December<br />
Rob Palmer, formerly of Peels Restaurant at<br />
Hampton Manor, is taking over evenings at<br />
Thyme, offering a five-course tasting menu. Rob<br />
led Peels Restaurant to their first Michelin Star<br />
in 2016, along with 4 AA Rosettes at Hampton<br />
Manor.<br />
In a new chapter for Rob, and with his first solo<br />
restaurant Toffs by Rob Palmer just a few months<br />
away from opening in Solihull, Rob is going to<br />
give diners at Thyme Kitchen a sample of his<br />
new menu on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.<br />
Rob has designed a stunning menu reflecting his new<br />
Toffs menu.<br />
Berkswell cheese custard<br />
Rob Palmer has shared the recipe for his delicious<br />
Berkswell cheese custard, which forms part of the first<br />
snack on his debut Thyme Kitchen menu. Serve with a<br />
cracker or grilled asparagus for simple, yet tasty appetiser.<br />
Ingredients<br />
2 eggs, boiled for six minutes, chilled and shelled<br />
200g grated Berkswell cheese<br />
200g boiled cream<br />
Put the boiled eggs and cheese in a blender and blend<br />
to a paste, gradually add the hot cream and blend until<br />
smooth, season to taste. Pass, then put into piping bags<br />
and chill.<br />
Historically, Sauce Supper Club toured the UK with<br />
their sellout events; however when the pandemic hit<br />
they had to remodel our business - and quickly.<br />
Beth Toovey says: “With all our events cancelled<br />
we got together with Tom Shepherd, formerly of<br />
Adams in Birmingham to deliver restaurant quality<br />
food, prepped ready to reheat and plate at home.<br />
Looking for a kitchen to work from led us to our now<br />
permanent base at Thyme Kitchen. We have opened a<br />
brunch cafe in the daytime serving stunning breakfasts<br />
along with more unusual dishes of Persian Eggs,<br />
shakshuka and our infamous breakfast naan - a real<br />
hit!<br />
“With the current situation, having a permanent base<br />
to offer our Supper Clubs has been fantastic. As well<br />
as Rob Palmer, we have Oli Martin, MasterChef:<br />
The Professionals finalist 2018 and former head chef<br />
of Hipping Hall popping up at Thyme Kitchen on<br />
November 12 and 13, cooking a six-course tasting<br />
menu for £75 per person.”<br />
42 www.jaimemagazine.com
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T R AV E L<br />
Unrivalled space at sea<br />
OLIVER AT RB COLLECTION STEPS ONBOARD REGENT SEVEN SEAS SPLENDOR TO SEE<br />
WHY THIS IS DESCRIBED AS ONE OF THE MOST LUXURIOUS SHIPS IN THE WORLD<br />
THE REGENT SPLENDOUR IS ONE OF THE MOST<br />
LUXURIOUS CRUISE SHIPS IN THE WORLD<br />
I have to be honest; cruise holidays have never<br />
appealed to me. I experience terrible motion sickness<br />
even in a car so the thought of being at sea did<br />
concern me a little. However, I knew it was a oncein-a-lifetime<br />
invite when Regent Seven Seas called,<br />
plus I was intrigued to see how the cruise lines are<br />
coping post-Covid - and maybe it was the perfect<br />
time to face those fears.<br />
At just under 55,000 tonnes with only 750 passengers<br />
and 375 suites, Splendor is considered one of the<br />
most luxurious cruise ships in the world, offering<br />
unrivalled space at sea. The ship boasts a 73.9 to<br />
one space to guest ratio compared with 41 to one<br />
on a typical premium ship carrying around 3,000<br />
passengers - very important in a post-Covid world.<br />
Splendor had a frustrating first year of sailings<br />
starting in February 2020. From Rome, she sailed<br />
over the Atlantic for her spectacular naming<br />
ceremony in Miami watched by more than 35,000<br />
online viewers. Sadly, this brand new six-star ship,<br />
the second Explorer Class from Regent, only made<br />
it as far as San Diego before offloading as the<br />
pandemic suddenly hit.<br />
Fast forward 18 months and the enthusiasm from the<br />
crew and team is infectious as we stepped onboard<br />
for the second attempt of her inaugural season.<br />
Our journey would take us from Southampton to<br />
Portland and onto Falmouth for a short four-night<br />
UK tester sailing.<br />
My expectations were high having sat through many<br />
44 www.jaimemagazine.com
Regent training sessions and arranged several of<br />
their cruises already. Splendor is the sister ship to<br />
Explorer, made famous from the TV documentary<br />
Building the World’s Most Expensive Cruise Ship.<br />
They are the only cruise line to include everything<br />
you need with no hidden surprises once onboard;<br />
flights, transfers, all food and drink (including<br />
specialty restaurants), unlimited shore excursions,<br />
gratuities, WiFi and even laundry!<br />
No expense has been spared on Splendor, and<br />
while the ship oozed luxurious opulence, it was<br />
presented in a sophisticated and intellectual way<br />
with a glamorous flavour and a surprisingly relaxed<br />
atmosphere. There are, for example, no formal<br />
nights or demands to wear ball gowns and tuxedos<br />
onboard Regent’s ship, something many would be<br />
surprised about. The dress code is ‘casually elegant’,<br />
so you can always be at ease onboard.<br />
Unlike the larger ships, cabins onboard Regent<br />
are all suites and start from 307 square-feet up to<br />
the huge 4,443 square-foot Regent Suite, which I<br />
was lucky enough to see while onboard and which<br />
features a second guest room and private outdoor<br />
deck jacuzzi!<br />
All suites come with their own balcony<br />
as a minimum. They are decorated in<br />
soft tones with classic lines, modern,<br />
fresh touches and sumptuous bed linens<br />
and furniture making it extremely<br />
comfortable. The entry-level suite<br />
onboard is equivalent to two-cabin<br />
upgrades and sizes up from the smallest<br />
cabin onboard larger ships, so even with<br />
the lowest priced option you are already<br />
experiencing an enhanced experience<br />
onboard.<br />
Our jaws dropped to the floor when<br />
we found our Splendour Suite, with its<br />
own living room, triple length balcony,<br />
separate (huge) bedroom and a bathroom<br />
larger than some city centre apartments.<br />
The jacuzzi bath was a real treat and this<br />
was certainly one of the most luxurious<br />
experiences I had ever had anywhere around<br />
the world.<br />
The ship’s art collection also really stood out<br />
for me. The $5m collection includes original<br />
works by Picasso, Joan Miro and Eduardo<br />
Arranz-Bravo to name a few, and you can<br />
enjoy expert-led tours to learn more.<br />
You could enjoy six meals a day if you<br />
wished: breakfast, morning coffee and cake,<br />
lunch, afternoon tea, pre-dinner canapés<br />
and dinner… and maybe a midnight dessert too!<br />
Our first night onboard was the tail end of a mini<br />
heat wave in the south of England, we hadn’t made<br />
dinner reservations and I was determined to enjoy<br />
the sunsetting as we set sail from Southampton. My<br />
request for an outdoor table at the Italian restaurant<br />
Sette Mari was not only granted, but we ended up<br />
with the best seat in the house privately overlooking<br />
the rear of the ship to watch the sunset. We had only<br />
been onboard a few hours but already were made to<br />
feel very special indeed.<br />
We also enjoyed meals in Prime 7, which specialises<br />
in steaks and other American inspired dishes,<br />
Compass Rose which has a fun build-your-own<br />
menu, and unique chef ’s specials accompanied by<br />
personable, light-hearted yet attentive service. On<br />
our final night we dined in Pacific Rim, definitely<br />
THE talk of the ship.<br />
We enjoyed soft shell crab tempura and signature<br />
curries. We casually mentioned on our way into the<br />
restaurant it was our wedding anniversary weekend<br />
and by the end of the meal we were presented with a<br />
personalised dessert from the restaurant team. This<br />
THE SPECTACULAR BATHROOMS<br />
OFFER AMPLE SPACE FOR PAMPERING<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com<br />
45
ENJOY THE VIEWS FROM YOUR PRIVATE DECK<br />
Asian-fusion restaurant would give any of the top<br />
Michelin star locations around the world a run for<br />
their money.<br />
It is difficult to describe just how attentive, personal,<br />
and impressive the service was onboard. Each crew<br />
member was allowed to let their personalities shine<br />
and this really helped create a personable connection<br />
while not compromising on luxury service.<br />
Wine was always paired perfectly by the onboard<br />
sommeliers and when something didn’t take your<br />
fancy a little hint of what you may prefer was<br />
immediately considered. Within minutes a perfect<br />
suggestion appeared, on this occasion it was a glass<br />
of Saint-Fleurin Mâcon-Villages.<br />
Entertainment onboard takes the form of a nightly<br />
West End-style show created by the onboard team,<br />
live music in two of the bars and special events. We<br />
enjoyed sampling the cocktail list while making new<br />
friends, sharing stories about travel, cruise ships<br />
and the service onboard – which was one of the top<br />
talking points amongst guests.<br />
Other activities you can enjoy onboard include a<br />
beautiful pool deck with large pool, Jacuzzis, plenty<br />
of oversized cabanas to relax under the sun, along<br />
with a jogging track, fitness centre, spa, casino,<br />
boutiques and, of course, plenty and plenty of space<br />
to sit back and watch the scenery go by.<br />
One of the most unique activities I took part in was<br />
the Culinary Arts Kitchen. I’m not exactly confident<br />
in the kitchen but this was a great opportunity to<br />
spend time with executive chef Kathryn Kelly along<br />
with 17 of my fellow passengers as we watched and<br />
learnt how to make some quintessentially British<br />
dishes. This purpose-built teaching kitchen was the<br />
perfect place to learn a few new skills and it was an<br />
original take on the traditional cooking class - and I<br />
must say my English scones were tasty too!<br />
If, like me, you are wondering about the<br />
environmental impact of cruise ships, I was pleased<br />
to hear about some interesting initiatives<br />
Regent’s owners have been investing in.<br />
These include turning food waste into fish<br />
food and installing power facilities in ports<br />
so the ships can turn off their engines and<br />
reduce carbon emissions.<br />
After our return to Southampton the ship<br />
welcomed its first paying passengers and set<br />
sail for the Mediterranean before heading to<br />
Miami in November where she is based for<br />
the winter Caribbean, Mexico, and South<br />
America cruises. Next year Splendour will<br />
return to Europe in April.<br />
This really was a trip where I stepped out of<br />
my comfort zone. Cruises and cooking classes were<br />
last on my travel ‘to do’ list, however I took the leap,<br />
and the feeling of achievement, satisfaction and<br />
overall enjoyment outweighs any fear and worries I<br />
previously had. There are certainly huge benefits to<br />
seeing the world by cruise ship as you can see a lot in<br />
a small period in comfort, familiarity and with good<br />
company.<br />
As for the motion sickness concerns, this was quickly<br />
combated with a daily dose of medication, and you<br />
quickly realise how stable these modern ships are – at<br />
the end of the day they want you to enjoy your time<br />
onboard, and I most certainly did!<br />
Oliver sailed aboard Regent Seven Seas Splendour<br />
on September 4, <strong>2021</strong> for four nights to Devon and<br />
Cornwall.<br />
OLIVER ENJOYED COOKERY<br />
CLASSES IN THE CULINARY ARTS<br />
KITCHEN<br />
46<br />
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Option 2:<br />
Barcelona round trip via Southern Spain,<br />
the Canaries and Morocco, February 15,<br />
2022 calling at Valencia, Alicante, Almeria,<br />
Grenada, Gibraltar, Tangier, Lanzarote,<br />
Tenerife and Gran Canaria,<br />
staying in an upgraded Concierge Suite.<br />
RB/J’AIME Price: £4,799pp<br />
(Public/Online price: £7,509)<br />
Option 3:<br />
Barcelona to Lisbon, May 5, 2022 calling<br />
at Monte Carlo, Tuscany, Rome, Mallorca,<br />
Cartagena, Malaga and Seville/Cadiz, staying<br />
in an upgraded Concierge Suite.<br />
RB/J’AIME Price: £3,499pp<br />
(Public/Online price: £6,419pp)<br />
To book call Nathan, Oliver or Clare who have<br />
all been onboard Regent’s ships on 01543<br />
258631 mentioning J’AIME Reader Offer.<br />
Prices and availability are subject to change.<br />
GOOD TO<br />
KNOW:<br />
Everything is included: The cruise fare may,<br />
at first look, seem high with Regent however<br />
look at the detail and you’ll see everything<br />
you need is included: flights, transfers, all<br />
meals, drinks, gratuities, WiFi and even<br />
excursions.<br />
Cabin tips: The lead-in Veranda Suites are<br />
great to get you onboard and be able to<br />
make use of all the services and inclusions<br />
plus a good-sized balcony, however it’s worth<br />
checking the Concierge Suites which come<br />
with pre and post stays, a little more space<br />
and suite extras.<br />
Who is it suitable for? If you want to<br />
experience the best of the best in the world<br />
of cruising, this is the perfect option, whether<br />
you are first-timers or seasoned cruisers.<br />
Don’t worry about formalities: The dress<br />
code is ‘elegant casual’, so you don’t need to<br />
worry about packing ball gowns and tuxedos<br />
like on some of the larger ships.<br />
Exclusive added-value: We have worked with<br />
Regent for many years and have access to<br />
exclusive fares, upgrades, and extras such as<br />
pre and post stays. We also know the ships<br />
very well, having stepped onboard ourselves,<br />
which adds extra value to ensure you choose<br />
the perfect cabin in the right location and can<br />
maximise your cruise experience.<br />
48 www.jaimemagazine.com
J’AIME<br />
IS ONLINE<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com<br />
During Baby Loss Awareness Week<br />
we are holding a service<br />
to commemorate the lives of<br />
babies lost in pregnancy or<br />
soon after birth.<br />
Led by experienced celebrant<br />
Sue McFadden at 6pm<br />
A service to Remember<br />
your Precious Baby<br />
Thursday 14th October<br />
At Cannock Chase Crematorium<br />
Norton Road<br />
Cannock<br />
WS12 3HJ<br />
For further information please email<br />
info@cannockcrematorium.co.uk<br />
or telephone 01543 212988
F E AT U R E<br />
Remembering lost babies<br />
CANNOCK CHASE CREMATORIUM IS TO HOLD A SPECIAL SERVICE THIS<br />
MONTH TO COMMEMORATE THE LIVES OF BABIES LOST IN PREGNANCY OR<br />
SOON AFTER BIRTH, IN SUPPORT OF BABY LOSS AWARENESS WEEK<br />
Baby Loss Awareness Week, which<br />
takes place from October 9 to 15,<br />
is a national campaign in its 19th<br />
year, which aims to bring together<br />
communities to give anyone touched<br />
by pregnancy and baby loss a safe<br />
and supportive space to share their<br />
experiences and feel that they are not<br />
alone.<br />
Cannock Chase Crematorium, on<br />
Norton Road, Cannock, will be holding<br />
a special service at 6pm on Thursday,<br />
October 14, led by experienced<br />
celebrant Sue McFadden. The service<br />
will offer a safe, supportive space to<br />
bring together those bereaved parents,<br />
families and friends affected by losing a baby too soon.<br />
Anyone touched by loss is invited to join the service<br />
and mark the lives of these special babies.<br />
Cannock Chase Crematorium will also join the global<br />
Wave of Light at 7pm on Friday, October 15, lighting<br />
the building in pink and blue in memory of all the<br />
babies who lit up the lives of their loved ones for such<br />
a short time.<br />
Jo Walker, crematorium manager, said: “Baby loss<br />
has a wide-reaching, devastating impact on the lives<br />
THE CREMATORIUM TEAM, LEAD BY<br />
MANAGER JO WALKER, SECOND LEFT<br />
CANNOCK CHASE CREMATORIUM WILL BE HOLDING<br />
A SPECIAL SERVICE TO COMMEMORATE BABY LOSS<br />
AWARENESS WEEK<br />
of all those involved. Communities are getting better<br />
at understanding the impact of baby loss on young<br />
families and opening the dialogue to enable young<br />
parents to share their experiences.<br />
“In the time I have been involved in the funeral<br />
industry I have seen a sea change in the care afforded<br />
to parents when their babies die and I am privileged to<br />
be in a position here at Cannock Chase Crematorium<br />
to support parents at the time they say their goodbyes.<br />
I hope this service offers some comfort to anyone<br />
affected by pregnancy and baby loss.”<br />
If you would like to attend the service,<br />
please let the crematorium know by<br />
emailing info@cannockcrematorium.<br />
co.uk or telephoning 01543 212988.<br />
Sue will be reading baby names during<br />
the service at a time of reflection. If you<br />
would like your baby’s name to be read,<br />
please contact the crematorium.<br />
If you would prefer to receive a link to the<br />
service to watch afterwards in the comfort<br />
of your own home this can be arranged<br />
too.<br />
More information about Baby Loss<br />
Awareness Week can be found at www.<br />
babyloss-awareness.org<br />
50 www.jaimemagazine.com
LO CA L A R E A<br />
What’s On for<br />
AS WE COME TO THE SPOOKIEST TIME OF YEAR, WE TAKE A LOOK AT SOME<br />
OF THE BEST HALLOWEEN FUN HAPPENING AROUND THE MIDLANDS<br />
WHAT: PYO PUMPKINS<br />
WHERE: LOWER DRAYTON FARM, PENKRIDGE<br />
WHEN: WEEKENDS FROM <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 2, DAILY FROM <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 18 TO 31<br />
Massive pumpkins, mini pumpkins, perfectly formed pumpkins and white pumpkins –<br />
Lower Drayton Farm have got them all.<br />
Get spooky season off to a great start with a visit to a pick-your-own pumpkin patch.<br />
Lower Drayton Farm has planted more than 80,000 pumpkin seeds of various varieties,<br />
over 12 acres, making it one of the largest pumpkin fields in the area. You can rest<br />
assured you’ll find your ‘perfect pumpkin’ match! Once you’ve picked your pumpkin you<br />
can head to the pumpkin carving tent and get creative - no mess to clean up at home!<br />
There will be hot food provided by Pear Tree Farm catering, offering hot dogs and<br />
homemade pumpkin soup, made from the farm’s own pumpkins, as well as soft drinks,<br />
tea, coffee and hot chocolate.<br />
Tickets are priced at £7 per person, including the pumpkin picking experience and a<br />
pumpkin to take home, and must be pre booked online at www.lowerdraytonfarm.co.uk<br />
WHAT: PUMPKIN FEST<br />
WHERE: MANOR FARM FRUITS, HINTS<br />
WHEN: WEEKENDS FROM <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 2, EVERY DAY FROM <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 20 TO 31<br />
This year, Manor Farm has grown eight acres of pumpkins, producing more than<br />
60,000 pumpkins, squashes and gourds. The choice of shiny orange pumpkins,<br />
knobbly gourds and quirky shaped squashes will be a sight to be seen.<br />
So, whether you want to carve a large pumpkin, make a delicious pumpkin pie or<br />
simply decorate your house and garden with little pumpkins, they’ll have an ideal<br />
pumpkin for everyone.<br />
As well as the pumpkins, there will be a wonderful Bounce and Climb, including<br />
Straw Pyramids, Mini-Mazes and Space Hoppers for the children to enjoy – it’s a<br />
great outdoor day out for all the family.<br />
Tickets are £2 for adults and £3 for children aged two to 12, with under twos free.<br />
Tickets must be booked online in advance at www.manorfarm.co.uk<br />
WHAT: MORE TREAT THAN TRICK<br />
WHERE: DRAYTON MANOR<br />
WHEN: <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 16 TO 31<br />
Looking for a spooktastic family-fun day out this October half term? Visit Drayton<br />
Manor between October 16 and 31 for more treats than tricks this Halloween. You’ll<br />
be surrounded by hay bales and pumpkins aplenty, as you enjoy more than 100 rides<br />
and attractions - including Thomas Land, Adventure Cove, the 15-acre zoo, live<br />
entertainment and much more.<br />
Step into Thomas Land and experience all the spooks and thrills with your little ones,<br />
and make it a happy Halloween with all the magical Island of Sodor Island has to offer.<br />
Follow clues to adventure around Thomas Land to find spooky letters and win a prize<br />
on Thomas’ Halloween Hunt, or follow Drayton’s Bale Trail and discover six themed<br />
hay bales around the park to win a prize.<br />
Tickets are priced from £31 for over 12s, £27 for four-to-11s, and £11 for two-to threes,<br />
with under twos going free. Visit www.draytonmanor.co.uk for more details.<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com<br />
51
WHAT: HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR<br />
WHERE: NATIONAL FOREST ADVENTURE FARM<br />
WHEN: <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 16,17, AND 23 TO 31<br />
Enjoy all the fun of the farm, plus a day packed with spooky Halloween fun at<br />
Burton’s National Forest Adventure Farm.<br />
Take the pumpkin wagon tractor ride to the pumpkin patch and pick your own<br />
pumpkin to take home, then carve your very own Jack O’Lantern, learn to fly with<br />
the interactive Broomstick Training show, and terrify your friends and family with<br />
skills picked up at Scare School.<br />
Elsewhere, mad Professor Lewey welcomes you to his crazy potions lab and mirror<br />
maze, and you can help the hapless wizard at the Tragic Magic Show. There’s a<br />
fancy dress competition too, so come dressed to impress in your spooky best.<br />
Arrive any time from 9.30am and stay all day until 5.30pm to make the most of the<br />
activities on offer. Tickets are priced at £14.99, with under twos going free, and are<br />
available to book online only at www.adventurefarm.co.uk<br />
WHAT: BRICK OR TREAT<br />
WHERE: LEGOLAND DISCOVERY CENTRE, BIRMINGHAM<br />
WHEN: WEEKENDS FROM <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 9, DAILY FROM <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 23 TO 31<br />
This October take your little monsters to LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre<br />
Birmingham and get into the spirit at the ultimate Halloween adventure. There are<br />
so many fang-tastic activities to sink your teeth as well as two awesome rides, lots<br />
of LEGO build and play zones and a 4D cinema experience at the ultimate indoor<br />
LEGO® playground.<br />
Join in the ‘Scarevenger Hunt’; with perilous pumpkins on the loose, bravely enter<br />
haunted Miniland and follow the clues to help solve the puzzle.<br />
Help the Master Model Builder and Playmakers to build a giant LEGO Vampire,<br />
or build your own LEGO pumpkin creations and add them to the Hall of Fame<br />
Pumpkin Patch for the chance to win scarily good prizes. Why not see if the Master<br />
Model Builders have any thrilling tips or tricks to help your awesome creations come<br />
to life?<br />
Halloween activities are included in the standard admission price, from £20.65<br />
per person. For more details visit www.legolanddiscoverycentre.com/<br />
birmingham<br />
WHAT: HAUNTED HOUSE<br />
WHERE: LICHFIELD GARRICK STUDIO<br />
WHEN: <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 30<br />
Kick In The Head presents an hour-long, fun-filled spooky tale all about ghosts,<br />
ghouls, and strange things that go bump in the night with their spooktacular fun<br />
Halloween show for children of all ages.<br />
Meet the ghost of old Granny Smith who has been rocking in her chair for over 300<br />
years, the haunted stone statue of Scrappy the dog that watches you move around<br />
the room, and listen to the tale of Nancy, the young maid who disappeared in 1850<br />
who’s never left the house and still blows out the candles at bedtime, even to this day.<br />
Mr Giles, the old coach driver, will keep you safe, guide you through the old tales,<br />
and help you learn all about the secrets of the old house.<br />
Socially distant and interactive creepy Halloween fun for all the family with plenty<br />
silliness and spookiness for all ages thrown in. Do you dare enter The Haunted<br />
House? Be afraid… well, just a little bit!<br />
Tickets are priced at £14, or £12 for under 16s. Visit www.lichfieldgarrick.com<br />
to book.<br />
52 www.jaimemagazine.com
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W H AT ’ S O N<br />
What’s On this month<br />
WE TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE BIGGEST AND<br />
BEST SHOWS AROUND THE MIDLANDS THIS MONTH<br />
WHAT: DIRTY DANCING<br />
WHERE: THE ALEXANDRA, BIRMINGHAM<br />
WHEN: <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 12 TO 16<br />
Seen by millions across the globe, this worldwide smash hit tells the classic story of<br />
Baby and Johnny, two fiercely independent young spirits from different worlds, who<br />
come together in what will be the most challenging and triumphant summer of their<br />
lives. See the hit film come to life before your eyes with this fantastic, emotional and<br />
triumphant live stage show.<br />
Exploding with heart-pounding music, breathtaking emotion and sensationally<br />
sexy dancing, this sensational stage show features a massive 35 hit songs, including<br />
Hungry Eyes, Hey Baby, Do You Love Me? and the heart-stopping (I’ve Had) The<br />
Time of My Life.<br />
For more details and ticket information visit www.atgtickets.com/birmingham<br />
WHAT: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG<br />
WHERE: BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME<br />
WHEN: <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 26 TO 30<br />
Mischief ’s multi award-winning international smash hit comedy The Play That<br />
Goes Wrong is returning to Birmingham Hippodrome, following its previous sellout<br />
successes.<br />
The Cornley Drama Society are putting on a 1920s murder mystery but, as the<br />
title suggests, everything that can go wrong… does! As the accident-prone thesps<br />
battle on against all the odds to reach their final curtain call, hilarious results<br />
ensue.<br />
Hailed “a gut-busting hit” by the New York Times, The Play That Goes Wrong,<br />
now in its seventh year in the West End, has won a host of celebrity endorsements<br />
from the likes of Joanna Lumley: “We laughed until the tears ran down our faces,<br />
it has to be seen” to Ant & Dec: “The funniest show we’ve seen! If you can get a<br />
ticket, go!”<br />
Don’t miss this brilliantly funny comedy that’s guaranteed to leave you aching<br />
with laughter. For ticket details visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com<br />
WHAT: DERREN BROWN - SHOWMAN<br />
WHERE: THE ALEXANDRA, BIRMINGHAM<br />
WHEN: <strong>OCTOBER</strong> 26 TO 30<br />
The multi award-winning master of mind control and psychological illusion,<br />
Derren Brown, is at his very best on stage. His one-man shows have received wide<br />
critical acclaim and more Olivier wins and nominations than any other in history.<br />
Now with his first brand new theatre show in six years, Derren Brown returns<br />
to astonish and amaze audiences up and down the country, with a stint in<br />
Birmingham this month. The content of Showman remains a closely-guarded<br />
secret, but if you’ve seen him before, you know you’re in for a powerhouse treat!<br />
Derren says: “All I can reveal is that the show will ultimately be about you, the<br />
audience member, because that’s what I find most interesting. There are places<br />
I’d like to take the audience where we haven’t been before. I always aim to have<br />
it deliver more than you’d expect. I’m excited to be at the starting point of that<br />
process. Getting it on the road will be my favourite part of the year.”<br />
For more details and ticket information visit<br />
www.atgtickets.com/birmingham<br />
54 www.jaimemagazine.com
Jean Lamb Wealth Consultancy<br />
My offices are situated in the historic city of Lichfield and I have been providing personal<br />
wealth management advice to my clients for more<br />
than 25 years.<br />
I specialise in the following key areas<br />
and welcome your enquiry:<br />
• Investment Planning<br />
• InheritanceTax and Estate Planning<br />
• Pre and Post-Retirement Planning<br />
• Care Fees Planning and Funding for Care<br />
Telephone: 01543 417342<br />
Website: www.jeanlamb.co.uk<br />
Email: jean.lamb@sjpp.co.uk<br />
Office: 6A Market Street, Lichfield, WS13 6LH<br />
Jean Lamb Wealth Consultancy is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management Plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority)<br />
for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products.
FA S H I O N<br />
Knit picking<br />
GET READY TO HIBERNATE IN THIS SEASON’S HEAD-TO-TOE<br />
KNITWEAR LOOKS, SAYS AMY NORBURY<br />
WE may only just be out of an 18-month period of onand-off<br />
hibernation, but as the nights draw in and the<br />
temperatures drop, it’s time to embrace that cocooning<br />
feeling once again - through our wardrobes.<br />
Luxurious knitwear is a perennial cold-weather staple, and<br />
that shows no signs of changing for AW21. In fact, for<br />
this season knitwear is holding a wardrobe takeover, with<br />
head-to-toe pieces arriving with gusto.<br />
From ankle-skimming jumper dresses to body-swamping<br />
ponchos, cashmere berets to knitted handbags, cosy<br />
dressing has been ramped up a notch with this new, pile-iton<br />
attitude.<br />
Designers galore took knitwear to the max in their AW21<br />
shows, with gorgeous knitted dresses in ultra-feminine<br />
silhouettes popping up everywhere from Chloé to Gabriela<br />
Hearst, jumbo cable sweaters offering a swaddle-tastic<br />
option at Khaite and draped, wrapped knitwear giving an<br />
elegant take at Richard Malone.<br />
Colour came into play too, with soft tonal neutrals vying<br />
for supremacy against colour-pop brights, proving once<br />
and for all that there’s a knitwear hero for everyone this<br />
season.<br />
If you only invest in one knitwear piece, make it a knitted<br />
dress. This style hero will be your ultimate fashion go-to<br />
for myriad occasions; team with trainers for casual cool,<br />
add attitude with chunky biker boots and a leather jacket<br />
or vamp it up with sky high thigh-highs.<br />
Elsewhere that autumn/winter must-have, the sweater,<br />
is taking a fashion-forward approach, with fringing,<br />
embellishment and ruffles galore jazzing up your plain<br />
cable knits and elevating the jeans-and-jumper combo to<br />
serious style goals.<br />
Loungewear may have been the style staple of choice for<br />
much of the past 18 months, but this season it’s time to<br />
up your game; look out for classy co-ords in the softest<br />
cashmere to take your laid-back look to the next level.<br />
ANTWERP ARAN JUMPER, £59.50, CORD<br />
MIDI SKIRT, £65, AND MICKA SHEARLING<br />
PHONE CROSSBODY, £29, ALL OLIVER<br />
BONAS. WWW.OLIVERBONAS.COM<br />
56 www.jaimemagazine.com
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BLEND JUMPER, ALICE + OLIVIA AT<br />
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CORNELIA JUMPER IN PINK MULTI,<br />
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JUMPER, £49, AND JEANS, £45, SONDER STUDIO.<br />
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FA S H I O N<br />
An eye for style<br />
OPTOMETRIST AND EYEWEAR STYLIST EVA DAVE, FROM RUGELEY,<br />
SHARES HER TOP TIPS FOR LOOKING FABULOUS IN YOUR SPECS<br />
One of the biggest challenges we face when<br />
choosing glasses is knowing which frames suit us,<br />
both anatomically and perhaps most importantly, as<br />
a person. That’s why I created a bespoke Eyewear<br />
Styling Consultation service, to help guide my clients<br />
on the shapes, styles and colours that both work for<br />
them, and which gives them confidence to take on<br />
the world.<br />
At my boutique optical practice, Style Optique,<br />
our styling consultation service offers expert styling<br />
advice and an empowering, fun experience.<br />
Here are my seven top tips to help you look fabulous<br />
in your eyewear:<br />
EYEWEAR STYLIST<br />
EVA DAVE<br />
Embrace colour!<br />
The correct colour against your skin tone has the<br />
ability to dramatically enhance your appearance.<br />
Many people stick to black and brown shades<br />
because they feel safe, but these colours can begin to<br />
appear harsh against the skin as we age. It’s far better<br />
to think of eyewear as ‘make up for the face’ and<br />
find a shade that not only enhances your eyes but<br />
brightens up complexion. Consider your wardrobe<br />
and a colour that will work with three or four other<br />
colours at once. If unsure try teal, which looks good<br />
on most skins, or turquoise and purple which are also<br />
flattering no matter what color pallet is preferred.<br />
Show off your best features!<br />
For example, if you have great cheekbones then<br />
selecting frames which are slightly upswept will really<br />
make them pop and add lift. If you are frequently<br />
complimented on your striking eyes, then select<br />
58 www.jaimemagazine.com
glasses that mirror some of the subtle<br />
colour details, for a look they’ll love and<br />
remember.<br />
Disguise those dark circles<br />
If you suffer from dark circles under your<br />
eyes, it is often difficult to find the right<br />
cream or concealer that will completely<br />
cover them. The solution - opt for a pair<br />
of glasses instead! The trick is finding<br />
frames that follow the line below your<br />
eyes and hey presto -the lines disappear<br />
like magic! And this is backed up from<br />
a study by the American Academy of<br />
Ophthalmology.<br />
Follow the natural shape of the<br />
brow<br />
Eyebrows are on trend right now. For<br />
balance and harmony, the upper rim of<br />
your glasses should follow the natural<br />
shape of your browline, opening up<br />
your eyes giving a wonderful ‘awake’ and energised<br />
appearance.<br />
Frame your eyes<br />
Make sure your eyes are clearly visible in the frame,<br />
creating an open and inviting look and increasing<br />
your connection to others. There is nothing worse<br />
than a pair of glasses that sits too low, or are which<br />
are narrow in depth, appearing to cut off the eyes<br />
and creating a barrier to communication.<br />
It’s all about scale<br />
If you’re small in scale with a finer bone structure,<br />
thinner frames with delicate details work best to<br />
enhance the appearance. On the other hand, for<br />
those with a larger bone structure with prominent<br />
facial features such as wider cheekbones and strong<br />
jawline, thick framed bolder glasses are better for<br />
balance.<br />
Express your personality!<br />
Your eyewear sits in the centre of your face for<br />
everyone to see. Therefore, not only should it<br />
complement your colouring and facial features, but<br />
should also work with your clothing style to help<br />
express who you are.<br />
Do you love to wear clothes which make a statement<br />
and stand out from the crowd? Then go<br />
for bright bold colours and exaggerated<br />
shapes to really reflect who you are. If you<br />
prefer a more stylish, sophisticated look<br />
in your clothing, then eyewear with clean<br />
lines and classic timeless shapes will work<br />
better for you.<br />
Eva Dave is a global eyewear styling<br />
trainer and expert, optometrist and optical<br />
practice owner in the UK, who runs an<br />
award-winning optical styling boutique,<br />
where she offers private eyewear styling<br />
consultations and a unique selection of<br />
handcrafted artisan eyewear. To enquire<br />
about Eva’s Private Styling Consultations<br />
email info@styleoptique.co.uk or call<br />
01630 652945.<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com<br />
59
B E AU T Y<br />
Autumn skincare boost<br />
THE CHANGING SEASON MEANS CHANGING YOUR SKINCARE TO CORRECT ANY DAMAGE<br />
CAUSED DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS. ROYAL FACIALIST AND FOUNDER OF HEAVEN SKINCARE<br />
DEBORAH MITCHELL OFFERS ADVICE ON THE BEST WAY TO RESTORE RADIANCE<br />
As the temperatures start to drop and the summer<br />
becomes a distant memory, it’s time to rethink your<br />
skincare routine for autumn. The air becomes drier<br />
at this time of the year and your complexion starts to<br />
lose moisture, so using the right products now means<br />
you’ll be laying the groundwork for the harsher<br />
winter weather.<br />
HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE: Water<br />
is essential for the skin – it is, after all, the body’s<br />
biggest organ – and making sure we take in enough<br />
of nature’s good stuff every day is essential. While<br />
your daily moisturiser plays an important role in this,<br />
you may find that it needs a helping hand.<br />
Heaven’s range of moisture-boosting Hydrogels<br />
(£37.90) feed, soothe and repair while minimising<br />
redness and inflammation. They also make the<br />
perfect base for your foundation.<br />
EXFOLIATE EACH DAY: Getting rid of daily<br />
pollution and dead skin cells is essential to keep<br />
your complexion in tip top condition, especially<br />
if you suffer blocked pores, blackheads, fine lines<br />
and dryness. Exfoliating speeds up the skin’s<br />
natural healing process, restores clarity and lightens<br />
pigmentation.<br />
My Nettle Polish (£37) contains a clever blend of<br />
phytotherapy ingredients – including nettle leaves,<br />
echinacea and maple sap – that extract toxins<br />
without harming the outer layer of the skin.<br />
GO FOR A THICKER MOISTURISER: You<br />
can get away with lighter moisturisers throughout the<br />
summer but as the seasons change you need one that<br />
will boost hydration levels and help increase elasticity.<br />
My Divine Cream (£64, 50ml) is designed for<br />
all skin types but it works particularly well on more<br />
mature complexions thanks to its innovative antiageing<br />
properties.<br />
HEAL YOUR HANDS: When we wash our hands<br />
too much – as we are all, quite rightly, being asked<br />
to do so now – the harsh chemicals in many offthe-shelf<br />
gels makes our skin too alkaline and this is<br />
when it starts to become dry and flaky.<br />
The super nourishing Vanilla Pod Hand Cream<br />
(£20) is made with powdered sand and added<br />
antiviral sandalwood, and these combined provide a<br />
protective barrier to stop hands drying out and stop<br />
dirt becoming ingrained.<br />
INTRODUCE A SERUM: While traditional<br />
moisturisers sit on the surface of the<br />
face, serums have smaller molecules so<br />
can penetrate the epidermis and deliver<br />
ingredients directly into your skin.<br />
Try my SOS Serum (£55) to balance<br />
oil levels, hydrate and feed the skin while<br />
its vitamin content can help to repair<br />
acne, scars and blemishes. I like to add<br />
1-2 drops to my favourite moisturiser or<br />
foundation.<br />
Heaven Skincare by Deborah<br />
Mitchell is available at Heaven<br />
Health & Beauty, 13a Market<br />
Place, Shifnal, Shropshire and<br />
at Harvey Nichols Birmingham.<br />
You can also shop online at<br />
heavenskincare.com<br />
60 www.jaimemagazine.com
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Rosemary Lodge Care Home is a family run home and has<br />
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We also offer respite care, holiday stay and limited day<br />
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care. To arrange a visit or to learn more about us please<br />
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Our commitment to offering just the right amount of care and support has led<br />
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or to learn more about us please get in touch using the contact details below.<br />
Rosemary Lodge Residential Care Home<br />
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Rosemary 191 Walsall Lodge Road, Residential Lichfield. Staffs. WS13 Care 8AQ. Home<br />
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CQC RATING GOOD
B E AU T Y<br />
More than just make-up<br />
MAKE-UP ARTIST RAVITA PANNU TALKS ABOUT THE LOVE AND SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE<br />
PANDEMIC AND WHY HER JOB IS MORE THAN JUST MAKE-UP. JAZZ SHERGILL DISCOVERS MORE<br />
As the world slowly returns back to its normal ways<br />
of living, the pandemic has had an effect on everyday<br />
life, from hobbies to home renovations, from fashion<br />
to food. And what do all of these have in common?<br />
There are people behind these industries. Some have<br />
been forced to close doors to their businesses, find<br />
work in a new place or have taken on a complete<br />
career change.<br />
Birmingham-based make-up artist Ravita Pannu is<br />
known for her artistry, particularly within the Asian<br />
wedding and beauty industry. She embarked on<br />
this journey 28 years ago, and through hard work,<br />
her love for her craft and being a part of people’s<br />
momentous occasions, she has never looked back.<br />
“My journey started, I guess, from the age of 13<br />
without even realising,” says Ravita. “I had already<br />
started to take steps slowly towards entering the<br />
world of hair and make-up and beyond. Sometimes<br />
the beauty industry isn’t always being recognised as a<br />
reputable one where you can make a career. Anyone<br />
in the beauty industry will know the struggle of not<br />
being recognised for your skills, and being able to<br />
create a healthy business from it.<br />
“I entered doing henna (a traditional form of body<br />
art originating in India, across South Asia and<br />
Middle East) then slowly progressed. I was always<br />
able to understand the concept of hair and stripped<br />
it right back to learn the art of make-up. I’m here<br />
today with a successful, international brand and the<br />
rest is history.”<br />
As a full-time make-up artist Ravita, also known<br />
as “RP”, relies on the events industry for work;<br />
with ceremonies and events cancelled due to the<br />
pandemic, she found herself out of work and with<br />
uncertainty as to when things would return back<br />
to normal, she looked for ways to help support her<br />
family, as well as the community.<br />
“We serve three dynamics; weddings, events and the<br />
beauty industry and all three were hit,” says Ravita.<br />
“Unfortunately, we didn’t receive much government<br />
support so from a business perspective it was so<br />
difficult, for almost 18 months we had zero income.<br />
RAVITA IS A RENOWNED MAKE-UP ARTIST<br />
You’re being kicked not only as a business but also<br />
as a human and dealing with so many emotions,<br />
having to stay strong for your family and friends. The<br />
pandemic is going to be felt for many years to come<br />
and it did allow me to reflect, refine and readjust for<br />
what I wanted for RP Make-Up as a brand.”<br />
Ravita’s business was the main source of income<br />
for her family; being financially hit during this time<br />
meant that she needed something to support her<br />
household, as well as her mental health.<br />
“We are the parents, we are the bill payers, we don’t<br />
live in an extended family, our friends and family<br />
did offer support but it was more than that, I just<br />
couldn’t sit and not do anything. Mentally, I was<br />
exhausted,” she says.<br />
“I was going towards a really dark place. I had to go<br />
back to work because I knew I would deteriorate.<br />
62 www.jaimemagazine.com
RAVITA’S WORK IS<br />
HIGHLY SOUGHT<br />
AFTER FOR<br />
EDITORIAL SHOOTS<br />
There’s only so long you can go on for, I had to do<br />
something. I turned 40 during lockdown and the<br />
biggest present I received was from one of my best<br />
friends who gave me a job as front-of-house at her<br />
café, Punjabi Rasoi – The Great Barr Café. To this<br />
day, I don’t think she realises the impact she actually<br />
had; she allowed me to go back to work, to bring<br />
in money which was much needed with the lack of<br />
government support, to interact with people and<br />
transfer the skills from my business to hers and to be<br />
in a happy place again.<br />
“Many people questioned why I was working in a<br />
café and one thing we need to stop doing is putting<br />
down others and owning what we do, wear your<br />
uniform with pride and never judge others.”<br />
Over the years, RP has built a community on social<br />
media and is an advocate for both supporting small<br />
businesses and female empowerment, and has<br />
provided opportunities for many people starting out<br />
on their careers.<br />
“I have been active on social media for a very long<br />
time,,” says Ravita. “We were all in the same storm<br />
but just in different boats and I quickly recognised<br />
that; whereas I was going through my own personal<br />
battles during the pandemic and as a family, I saw<br />
that there was a sea of supporters, I don’t call them<br />
followers on social media, I call them supporters and<br />
they needed someone to look to, who they could go<br />
to and to let them know it was going to be okay.<br />
“I started doing Instagram Lives and was reaching<br />
out to like-minded people to join in on conversations<br />
while in lockdown. My direct messages were flooded<br />
with love and support and now, upon reflection,<br />
doing this helped me to deal with my own battles<br />
at the time and allowed me to create an even more<br />
authentic platform. It was a safe space, we were all in<br />
it together and it was a real joining of a community.<br />
I was able to provide people with<br />
some moral support, business support<br />
and just some friendly support or a<br />
shoulder to cry on.”<br />
As well as being able to help others<br />
through the power of social media, this<br />
time really allowed Ravita to gather<br />
her thoughts.<br />
“It has allowed me to grow spiritually;<br />
it gave me the opportunity to reflect,<br />
refine, and rejoice what I’ve already<br />
got, have gratitude and to be thankful,<br />
because what can take years to make<br />
can be gone overnight.”<br />
As we begin to move out of the<br />
pandemic, people can start to celebrate<br />
their special milestone events, weddings and<br />
occasions are back on and life for RP is returning<br />
back to what it once was.<br />
“We went from zero to one hundred so quickly,” says<br />
Ravita. “It has been a mad rush since things started<br />
to open up, my feet haven’t touched the ground but<br />
I am so grateful. We need to take lessons from the<br />
pandemic and how we can move forward stronger<br />
as human beings and more as a society as whole. I<br />
was very fortunate, that my business did survive the<br />
pandemic and that’s because of the platform that has<br />
been created and it reached so many people. Many<br />
say you work to live, I live to work, I absolutely love<br />
my job, it’s #MoreThanJustMakeUp.”<br />
For more details visit www.ravitapannu.com or<br />
follow Ravita on Instagram @Rpmakeup<br />
RAVITA HAS COME THROUGH THE CHALLENGES OF<br />
THE PANDEMIC AND IS BACK DOING WHAT SHE LOVES<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com<br />
63
I N T H E N E W S<br />
Wed in style<br />
A SPECTACULAR NEW WEDDING VENUE IN THE HEART OF THE DERBYSHIRE<br />
COUNTRYSIDE HAS RECENTLY WELCOMED ITS FIRST COUPLE<br />
With more than 20 years of experience<br />
in restoring old buildings that have been<br />
neglected and transforming them into<br />
beautiful wedding venues, family-run<br />
Cripps & Co have worked their magic once<br />
again.<br />
Stunning Grangefields is a new wedding<br />
barn situated in the heart of the Derbyshire<br />
countryside, which has become the latest<br />
venue in their impressive portfolio, which<br />
also includes the beautiful Thorpe Garden<br />
at the Thorpe Constantine estate near<br />
Tamworth. Their first couple tied the knot<br />
at the picturesque venue in August.<br />
Grangefields is conveniently located<br />
between Derby and Ashbourne and is<br />
accessed down a long private drive. This<br />
exclusive-use venue has many features which are<br />
typically only seen in five-star hotels – a glass-fronted<br />
show kitchen with a French rotisserie, rotating woodfired<br />
pizza oven and a huge charcoal BBQ as the<br />
centrepiece. Every detail has been thought of from<br />
speakers in the loos (so nobody misses the speeches),<br />
colour changing lights on the dance floor and a stateof-the-art<br />
Funktion-One sound system.<br />
The seven-metre-long oak bar is lit-up with chrome<br />
lights, taken from an old warship, and greenery<br />
hangs from the ceiling, the impressive wall of glass<br />
frames the stunning views out over the Derbyshire<br />
hills.<br />
The old chapel-like ceremony room has more than<br />
150 handmade lead windows, a log fire for the winter<br />
months and hundreds of candles and fairy lights<br />
gives it a magical atmosphere.<br />
Grangefields has been designed with the British<br />
weather in mind – the glass fronted Dutch Barn has<br />
a raised veranda which enables 150 people to have<br />
drinks and canapés in the rain whilst enjoying the<br />
Derbyshire views.<br />
The sheltered courtyard acts as the focal point and is<br />
the stage for the Argentinian Asado (for cooking six<br />
whole lambs), the outdoor ceremony room doubles<br />
up as a bar and the old cow troughs are filled with<br />
ice and drinks. At night, the space is illuminated<br />
with festoon lights, flares and fire pits for toasting<br />
marshmallows.<br />
The food is simple yet exceptional - they buy the<br />
best ingredients, cook them over the open flames<br />
and serve generously. Their in-house wine buyer has<br />
long-standing relationships with artisan winemakers<br />
around Europe, visiting each producer personally<br />
and buying wine directly from the vineyards.<br />
Grangefields shows all prices and availability online<br />
so take a look and book a viewing today, while they<br />
still have availability. Visit the website at<br />
www.crippsandco.com/grangefields<br />
64 www.jaimemagazine.com
I N T H E N E W S<br />
Create your dream smile<br />
AWARD-WINNING SUTTON COLDFIELD DENTAL PRACTICE REECE ASSOCIATES IS<br />
HELPING PEOPLE TO ACHIEVE THE SMILE OF THEIR DREAMS - THANKS TO THEIR<br />
INNOVATIVE TREATMENTS AND STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY<br />
A bright smile is often<br />
one of the first features<br />
people notice when they<br />
meet someone. Warm and<br />
welcoming, a confident smile<br />
can make it easy to create an<br />
instant rapport with a new<br />
acquaintance.<br />
But if you tend to hide your<br />
smile because you’re less<br />
than confident about it, this<br />
can sometimes create a first<br />
impression which is less than<br />
ideal.<br />
Leading Sutton Coldfield<br />
dental practice Reece<br />
Associates are committed to<br />
creating the perfect smile for their patients. Using a<br />
series of innovative treatments, the experienced team<br />
can help to transform your lacklustre smile into a<br />
beam to be proud of.<br />
A smile makeover is a cosmetic procedure that uses<br />
various different treatments to ensure you are left<br />
with a perfect, yet natural looking, smile.<br />
The highly skilled dentistry team at Reece Associates<br />
will listen closely to all of your needs and concerns,<br />
enabling them to design a detailed bespoke treatment<br />
plan outlining all the options that are available to<br />
you. Working closely with each patient at every stage<br />
of the treatment, the team will ensure that the end<br />
result shows off your smile to its personal best.<br />
Treatment options could range from teeth whitening<br />
to improve the colour of your teeth, implants or<br />
bridges to fill in gaps, through to braces or Invisalign<br />
to straighten crooked teeth, and veneers or crowns to<br />
restore chipped or damaged teeth.<br />
Once your treatment plan has been finalised,<br />
Reece Associates will liaise with the highly<br />
skilled technicians at their most reputable dental<br />
laboratories to create a diagnostic wax up, which is a<br />
3D wax model of your mouth which enables you to<br />
see what your finished smile will look like. This also<br />
gives you the chance to change or improve aspects<br />
before your new smile is fitted.<br />
Reece Associates are committed to using the most<br />
advanced technology to assist with all elements of<br />
the dentistry procedure, and to ensure the most<br />
comfortable experience for patients.<br />
One of the latest investments is the iTero Elements<br />
2 Intraoral Scanner, a state-of-the-art scanner which<br />
can capture a detailed 3D image of all your teeth<br />
and their positioning. This dental scanning technique<br />
offers comfort, ease and speed, avoiding the use of<br />
more traditional impression-taking methods which<br />
are often messy and uncomfortable.<br />
The iTero Elements scanner is ideal for procedures<br />
such as implants, Invisalign, bridges and crowns, and<br />
even allows patients to see simulations of potential<br />
Invisalign treatment outcomes, enabling you to<br />
envisage the results before treatment starts.<br />
For more details on the treatment options available<br />
at Recce Associates, visit the website at<br />
www.reeceassociates.co.uk or call the practice<br />
on 0121 355 5180. Reece Associates is based at<br />
22A Chester Road, New Oscott, Sutton Coldfield,<br />
B73 5DA.<br />
www.jaimemagazine.com<br />
65
I N T H E N E W S<br />
Set in stone<br />
A STAFFORDSHIRE FAMILY-RUN BUSINESS, UKSTONEWORX IS HELPING CUSTOMERS TO<br />
ENHANCE THEIR KITCHENS WITH BEAUTIFUL, HIGH QUALITY STONE WORKTOPS<br />
If you’re thinking of upgrading your<br />
kitchen with new, quality worktops,<br />
Staffordshire-based UKStoneworx can<br />
offer expert advice and a personal service<br />
to help you to discover the right worktops<br />
for you.<br />
Run by Leon and Anna Hughes,<br />
UKStoneworx are passionate about<br />
delivering exceptional service along<br />
with the highest levels of quality and<br />
workmanship when creating your new<br />
worktops.<br />
Based at Burntwood Business Park, the<br />
extensive showroom opened in April, and<br />
showcases the stunning range of products<br />
on offer. Seven fully fitted displays allow<br />
customers to envisage what their new worktops will<br />
look like in their kitchens, while more than 100 extralarge<br />
samples show the true detail of the material,<br />
compared to the small swatches customers may have<br />
received previously.<br />
UKStoneworx work with all the main leading quartz<br />
and granite brands in the world, such as Silestone,<br />
Dekton, Fugen worksurfaces, CRL, Caesarstone<br />
and many more. They use the latest LT2D3D laser<br />
templating technology to measure each customer’s<br />
worktops precisely, and also offer a hard templating<br />
service using correx sheets to create a template in<br />
your kitchen.<br />
The team has more than 20 years of experience<br />
in the stone worktop industry, and that extensive<br />
knowledge ensures that each customer is guided and<br />
informed throughout the whole purchasing process.<br />
Family values run through the core of their service.<br />
Owner Leon began his career as a kitchen worktop<br />
fitter, progressing onto laser templating and<br />
eventually becoming a self-employed templator<br />
before taking the natural next step to create the<br />
business which is now known as UKStoneworx as<br />
demand for services grew.<br />
Anna, meanwhile, has vast experience working at<br />
large organisations such as Poundland as a senior<br />
THE STUNNING<br />
SHOWROOM OFFERS<br />
SEVEN FULL DISPLAYS<br />
buyer and as part of major marketing campaigns.<br />
The duo were joined by sales and marketing<br />
manager Terrance Martin in April.<br />
The UKStoneworx showroom is open to both the<br />
trade and public. Local trades and businesses can<br />
benefit from their brand new, free Tradeworx loyalty<br />
membership scheme. The perks of this membership<br />
include a discount for your customers or referrals,<br />
and a cashback incentive when jobs are completed.<br />
UKStoneworx have also recently launched a Free<br />
Food Friday incentive for all local trades that sign<br />
up to the scheme, with a delicious freebie from the<br />
Chase Bakery cafe on a Friday.contact information<br />
and opening hours<br />
The UKStoneworx showroom at Unit 28A<br />
Burntwood Business Park is open from Monday to<br />
Friday, 8am to 4.30pm, and on Saturdays from 9am<br />
to 3pm. For more information call 01543 742272.<br />
To request a quotation email info@ukstoneworx.<br />
co.uk - all that is required is a plan or drawing<br />
of dimensions and requirements, and the team<br />
will get a quotation over to you within 24 hours.<br />
UKStoneworx also offers a free sample service,<br />
which is available via the website at www.<br />
ukstoneworx.co.uk. You can also follow<br />
UKStoneworx on Facebook, Instagram and<br />
Linkedin @ukstoneworx<br />
66 www.jaimemagazine.com
Established – Professional – Transparent<br />
The Winterton family name has been synonymous<br />
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Discover that hidden gem with your local auctioneer<br />
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Fradley Park (close to the A38)<br />
Wood End Lane, WS13 8NF<br />
Mondays<br />
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BY APPOINTMENT<br />
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By appointment only - with our team on Thursdays from 9.30am - 4pm Call 01543 251081<br />
01543 251081<br />
www.richardwinterton.co.uk<br />
office@richardwinterton.co.uk<br />
The Lichfield Auction Centre, Wood End Lane, Fradley Park WS13 8NF<br />
J'Aime Ad 190x280_June <strong>2021</strong>.indd 5 24/09/<strong>2021</strong> 15:18