Barry Cuff shares what’s happening on an allotment you might expect to be bare in January, along with an annual potato trip.
Barry Cuff ’s annual trip to Mill House Nurseries at Owermoigne for seed potatoes – selecting from over 80 varieties, all accompanied by details of disease resistance and main cooking characteristics.
One of the main events in our allotment year is the trip to Mill House Nurseries at Owermoigne for our seed potatoes – they stock over 80 varieties. This year there were 21 first earlies, 16 second earlies and 45 main crop all accompanied with details of disease resistance and main cooking characters. Each year we aim to grow one or two new varieties.
A variety of potatoes
We chose Sagitta (superb flavour best chips and mash) and Royal. This variety was bred for McCains (The perfect all rounder. Makes superb chips, roasties, mash and jackets. Excellent flavour with good disease resistance). We bought enough tubers for a line of each. The rest of our crop will be tried and tested varieties. These are Foremost, Charlotte, Elfe, Rooster, Picasso and International Kidney. Once home the tubers were stood up in egg trays and put in the garage with natural light and frost free.
Peppers and beans
All our vegetables are grown from seed either directly into the soil, or in pots and plugs for transplanting. We ordered them all last year, and they arrived back in September and October – the majority were bought from Kings Seeds (as we belong to the South West Counties Allotment Association we get a fifty percent discount on their catalogue price), but there are a few varieties which Kings do not stock, and we obtain these from Fothergills and Thompson & Morgan. As of today (26th January) we have sown and pricked out about 15 chilli peppers and 25 sweet peppers. Sown in the greenhouse in trays of compost are 50 seeds Masterpiece Green Longpod beans and 50 Witkiem Manita broad beans. These should be ready to plant out late February.
Still harvesting
Out on the plot the autumn-planted garlic is doing well, and we are still digging carrots, parsnips, leeks and celeriac. A few celery have survived the frosts; admittedly they are not brilliant at this late stage, but the centres are good for soup.
From our store and freezer we are still enjoying potatoes, onions, squash, sweetcorn, peas and French Beans. Only one third of our plot will be dug as usual and we hope to do this once cleared of crops over the next two months.
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Not quite a year after launching his business, Dan Pitman has been declared the South West regional winner – and awaits news on the National award at the end of the month.
Dan Pitman
The Wedding Industry Awards are well-respected in the wedding industry, judged by a panel of experts rather then a popularity contest.
Dan Pitman, a roofer from Shaftesbury, entered the 2022 awards, just a year after launching his wedding videography business in May 2020, feeling that even a little recognition would add some credibility to his fledgeling brand.
He was excited and surprised to learn he was a finalist, and attended the ceremony in Cheltenham on the 26th January with little expectation.
His response when he won was an emotional one: “I’m still on such a high from winning. I feel incredibly lucky that my work has been recognised and regarded as the highest standard in the south west after less than a year of filming weddings. The amount of time I have invested in learning the skills required to film weddings, the money invested in equipment, facing fears of huge responsibilities… all worth it!”
“I am so grateful to everyone who has hired me – especially the first few. Booking a videographer who had never filmed a wedding before is a huge risk – I certainly wouldn’t have done it!
But to give me the opportunity to do that means so much. It is going to be a very busy year for me” he added “I’m transitioning from roofing to full time weddings, and 2023 bookings are busy. The national finals are next month, and I am up against some amazing filmmakers. If everyone can keep their fingers crossed for me I’d really appreciate it!
The Regional Winners now go through to the National Final. The National Winners will be announced at a spectacular National Awards Event in London on February 23rd.
World-famous artist Michael Taylor is putting on his first gallery show outside London for 30 years. The Child Okeford show is a ’must-see’ event, says Edwina Baines, who spoke to Michael about his work.
In the studio with Michael Taylor image: Edwina Baines
Around forty years ago I bought a small still life painting by Michael Taylor of a bunch of grapes (see image below). I have always admired the talent demonstrated in that oil study, especially the bloom on the grapes – a dark background with the blue-violet bunch occupying a central position. At that time, in 1983, Michael won the National Portrait Gallery John Player Award. This placed him firmly on the map of prestigious portrait painters and led to a commission from the National Portrait Gallery to paint the classical guitarist Julian Bream.
Subsequent commissions followed and the National Portrait Gallery now also owns his portraits of the crime writer P D James (Baroness James of Holland Park), and the composer, Sir John Tavener, along with a self portrait. For his Oscar winning film, ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, the film director Wes Anderson also commissioned him to paint ‘Boy with Apple’; the sittings taking place at Hanford School, the Jacobean manor house in Dorset. However, during our conversation at his lovely home near Dorchester, Michael told me he prefers not to be described as a portrait artist:
‘I don’t do so many portrait commissions now.’
Around forty years ago Edwina Baines bought this small still life painting by Michael Taylor.
Attic Stories
In Dorset, there will now be the rare opportunity to view his first Gallery show outside central London for over 30 years: ’Attic Stories’ is to be held at The Art Stable, Child Okeford, Dorset from 5 February – 5 March 2022. The ten stunning works on display are still life and figure paintings – and I was curious to understand the nuances between a portrait and a figure painting. Michael explained ‘They each require a very different approach and technique.’ He likened it to the difference between a novel and a biography.
‘Portrait painting is more like a performance. I’m demanding a lot of the sitter’s time – it’s a two-way thing. You need their attention. I have to engage in conversation. I like to go into their environment if I’m going to paint a portrait because it reflects how they’ve chosen to live. I like to find the sitter’s unique distinguishing qualities which define their individuality.’
There is a rare opportunity to view Michael Taylor’s first Gallery show outside central London for over 30 years: ’Attic Stories’ is to be held at The Art Stable, Child Okeford, Dorset from 5 February – 5 March 2022 Work featured in this photograph: On easel: In parenthesis. Lower left: Copper basket with fruit. Right: Still life with Orchid image: Edwina Baines
‘darting glances of great intensity’
P D James spoke about her experience of sitting for Michael. During a sitting, she asked, ‘Are you trying to make me look grim and mysterious?’
He replied, ‘I’m not trying to make you look anything. I have enough difficulty painting what I see!’
She apparently felt that was the mark of a good portraitist. Painting with deep concentration and giving her ‘darting glances of great intensity’. There was a certain amazement when she first saw the portrait. She said there was ‘a conviction that this was a portrait beautifully painted. The skill of the painter impressed me tremendously… it had something that can be preserved for posterity. I think it is a face of someone who has looked on the darker side of life, certainly!’ A wonderful tribute.
Michael went on to describe how a figure painting differs from a portrait. ‘I’m using the model to say something that is universal to all of us. I’m still describing the person who is an individual but they are actors in a play. With a commission I am trying to find out what makes them different to others; in figure painting I’m looking for what is universal to all of us.’ The placement of each figure’s hands seemed particularly expressive in many of the paintings. Always beautifully portrayed.
Michael explained, ‘Hands are very expressive. The odd thing is, if you paint a hand anatomically correctly, it looks wrong. You have to paint how it feels.
Often I’ll paint it correctly and then wipe it over with a cloth and what is left is more expressive.’
Portrait of PD James (copyright National Portrait Gallery)
’I’m still learning’
His technique does not include a lot of drawings; rather he completes preparatory diagrams and notes for his own use and then draws on the canvas with under-paint. However, he told me that he has recently been attending life classes again. ‘There is nothing like the rigour and discipline of objective drawing for sharpening up the brain and eye.’ Sitting with Michael in his studio, I was surrounded by the canvases for his exhibition. He is able to take an everyday object such as a sewing machine, a pepper pot or an old oil can and paint it with extreme precision. ‘Everything is beautiful if you look at it in the right way. I love pulling things out of tips and rescuing them and giving them a new meaning,’ he says.
The pictures certainly take time to look at, each object gaining significance. There is a tenderness and reverence in his interpretation of both everyday items and the figures themselves: it is no wonder that Michael completes only three or four paintings each year. He is able to ‘commune with an object for weeks and weeks, in complete silence or with a bit of Haydn, getting to know it thoroughly. It’s a meditative process. The only way I can get the necessary focus is to take my time and then do nothing else.’
Michael Taylor in his studio. Works featured are –Left:’Toppled Machine’Centre: ’Three tiered Table’. Right: ‘Attic Scene with Grave goods’. Michael holding: ‘Petrified clock with oil can’ image – Edwina Baines
A still life is a work of art where the predominant subject matter is that of inanimate objects, either natural or man-made: this genre had its heyday during the Dutch Golden Age of the sixteenth century. Also known by its French title, nature morte, the term “still life” derives from the Dutch word stilleven, which literally means motionless or silent life. It is a genre which has fallen out of fashion in recent years – but Michael manages to portray a contemporary twist on the timeless tradition so that even the most mundane objects are imbued with a life beyond the ordinary and can be made into masterpieces. The Curator of the National Portrait gallery writes of the ‘Sheer beauty, weight and intensity of his ‘still lifes’ – so I can understand that at the end of an intense period of painting, Michael needs to get outside to walk each day in our beautiful Dorset countryside.
Equity release; it’s all over our TV screens and radio, but what do you actually know about it? Expert Chris Brooks separates the fact from the fiction and busts those myths you’ve heard about lifetime mortgages.
shutterstock
The most common form of equity release is a Lifetime Mortgage, put simply this is a long-term loan which allows you release the wealth tied up in your property.
Myth 1: Lifetime mortgages are unsafe and unregulated. Fact: Lifetime mortgages are regulated by the FCA, also the Equity Release Council is set up to protect the interests of consumers so you should have peace of mind to consider equity release.
Myth 2: You’ll owe more than the value of your home. Fact: Products which meet the Equity Release Council’s product standards are required to feature a no negative equity guarantee. Put simply, this guarantee means that you, or more specifically your estate will never owe more than the property is worth once it is sold.
Myth 3: You must stay in the same property for the rest of your life. Fact: With most lifetime mortgages, you can move home and transfer the loan to the new property providing it meets the lenders terms and criteria.
Myth 4: You will leave a debt to your family and loved ones. Fact: Providing the terms and conditions are met, no debt is left to your estate, and you or your family will never owe more than the value of your home once sold upon death or permanently moving into long-term care.
Myth 5: Equity can’t be released if there is an outstanding mortgage. Fact: You can apply for a lifetime mortgage providing you pay off your existing mortgage balance. This can be done either through the equity released from your property or by another means.
Myth 6: It’s not possible to reduce the outstanding debt. Fact:Many lifetime mortgages allow for 10% voluntary repayments without you incurring any early repayment charges.
With some plans you can also make monthly interest repayments; this way you can maintain the debt to the initial amount of the loan before interest. Lenders will need to check these payments are affordable to you. If you choose to make interest repayments, you still have the option to move to a roll up arrangement at a later date if you wish. There are even some lenders who can offer you the option to pay off some of the capital throughout the plan.
Myth 7: You won’t be able to leave your property as an inheritance. Fact: Once the loan has been repaid from the sale of your property, any money left over can go to your beneficiaries. Some plans let you ring fence a portion of your home’s equity to leave as an inheritance for your loved ones.
Myth 8: You’ll lose ownership and control of your property. Fact: With a lifetime mortgage you continue to own 100% of your home. A lifetime mortgage is a loan secured against your property, so you will always retain ownership until you either die or move into permanent long-term care, after which time your property will be sold to repay the loan plus any accrued interest.
A better understanding.
Now we’ve dispelled the myths you have a better understanding of what choosing a lifetime mortgage actually means and its impact on you and your family. There’s a useful calculator tool HERE for you to find out how much money you could unlock from your home.
At Harbour Equity Release our objective is to find the right solution for you. There is no obligation to proceed, and if equity release isn’t your best option
we will let you know. Please visit my website for frequently asked questions, a free-to-use calculator to see how much equity you could release and more. Please feel free to either give me a call on 01202 925 976 or email me at [email protected]
FinWe finally made it through what was seemingly the longest January in history, and the Thorngrove team are looking ahead to a year of getting involved and ‘being more’…
Thorngrove Garden Centre
Well that was the longest January in history wasn’t it? We made it though! 2022 is well underway and we’re excited for what’s to come. Planting season continues, with Kale, Basil, Tomatoes, Aubergines and Broad Beans some of the key things you be sowing in Feb. Don’t forget the Summer flowering bulbs too – get them in pots this month so you’ll have plenty for your garden come July. For any guidance on how to get the most out of your planting, just stop by for a chat.
Keen to be involved
At Thorngrove we’re naturally planning for spring and summer, but we’re also considering more ways to get ourselves involved with the community.
As we’ve often previously mentioned, we want to be more than your local garden centre; we want to be that resource for advice, an event destination, and a presence beyond our gates. Whether that’s by getting involved with South & South East in Bloom (in which our staff recently won awards), returning to the Gillingham & Shaftesbury show, or supporting small community efforts.
If you have a project you’re working on – please do get in touch, there may be something we can do to help…our plants look pretty good, you know!
Thorngrove Garden Centre
Plenty to say
We’re also making some tweaks to our online presence’. The community of followers we’ve built on Facebook and Instagram have been so good to us in the last couple of years. With the launch of our online shop during the pandemic, our gorgeous new shop space on site, the café revamp, all the usual garden tips, ‘plant of the month’… we always have lots to talk about, and we love your feedback, comments, and shows of support. We’ve thrown ourselves into the deep end and really tried to ramp up the content we put out, and we’re not slowing down. Our Instagram will be exclusively beautiful plant photography from now on, and we’d love to share your photos too!
Thorngrove
Budding photographer proud of your garden space? Maybe a new item from Thorngrove has pride of place? Let us know – we’d love to highlight it.
Speaking of beautiful images – we’re also immensely proud to have launched our new range of 100% eco-friendly greetings cards, featuring unique and original Thorngrove photography. Just another step towards our mission of making ourselves a garden centre you can be proud of. See you soon!
As society grows ever more eco-conscious, Brad and Susie from Meyers consider the impact of a home’s energy performance on a mortgage offer.
Energy certificate. Low energy and save money concept in construction. 3d illustration
We are all becoming increasingly aware of the the link between our use and production of energy and its impact on the climate.
We are beginning to see an increase in the steps being taken by large corporations and smaller companies to combat this. How could this effect the individual homeowner? Many New Years resolutions and plans for mortgage companies revolve around sustainability and energy efficiency, and therefore the pace of incentivised lending for properties with a higher Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating is beginning to escalate.
Green mortgages
We have seen this in a number of specialised lenders who have embraced ‘Green Mortgages’. For example, NatWest are offering a reduced rate to those purchasing or remortgaging a home with an EPC rating of A or B.
It is said that in the next 12 months the activity surrounding these Green Mortgages is set to rise, with increased support from the government. This also appears to be gaining individual traction as a recent survey found that 48% of homeowners and prospective homeowners would consider improving their energy rating to access a better mortgage.
So how can we improve our property’s EPC rating?
• Double glazing • Loft insulation • Wall insulation • Replace your boiler to a new, energy-efficient boiler • Solar panels
Broadly speaking, a green mortgage is one that rewards someone for buying/owning an energy-efficient home. That typically means either a slightly lower interest rate, cashback when you take out the mortgage, or both. Some deals are restricted to people buying a new-build property. In addition, some lenders offer their existing mortgage customers additional borrowing at discounted rates to pay for green home improvements such as replacing draughty windows, upgrading an outdated heating system or adding solar panels. The government has said it is keen to support a competitive market in this area and is exploring plans to link mortgages to green home improvements by imposing targets for banks and building societies.
Please do get in touch for any property advice or a free expert valuation on your home: Brad at Shaftesbury – 01747 352077 Susie at Blandford – 01258 690553
Editor Laura took her three perennially-reluctant teenagers to try Rock Reef in Bournemouth – and was amazed at just how much they loved it.
Big and little teen on the Highline, travelling over the head of their brother on the rock wall – he never did make the top!
Every parent of teenagers knows that the coninual air of bored cynicism gets wearing. So I arrived at Rock Reef with three teenagers and only moderate expectations of the fun they’d have climbing a big colourful wall. As it wasn’t going to be me wobbling precariously on a rope, I hadn’t paid too much attention to the specifics when we’d agreed to review the experience. Walking in was an eye opener. Rock Reef is located literally on Bournemouth Pier – we parked at the BIC, and it was just a two minute walk down the hill. Checked in upon arrival, we deposited coats and bags in one of the plentiful free lockers, and everyone who was climbing headed straight for the safety briefing. Instructions were clear and patient; alarmingly quickly they were confident in how to work the clipping system, and let loose on a frankly HUGE hall of different climbing walls – mostly themed sections, with one entire end a fake rock face for a more authentic climbing experience. They each chose differently themed ‘walls’ and after a nervous start they soon found their confidence and began racing and challenging each other, trying out the various routes. They then moved on to the Highline, suspended from the ceiling much like an indoors ‘Go Ape’ course – wobbly log rungs, monkey hoops, balance posts and cargo nets – all swinging freely, way up high in the air. It was so good they went round twice.
The three teens on the first wall – the middle ‘morse code’ was deemed the hardest in the room. and the circles on the left the easiest.
A great atmosphere
Rather than an intimidating first impression, the atmosphere was brilliantly collaborative and friendly between climbers. Staff were attentive, helpful and unfailingly cheerful. When a lady had a panic attack half way around the Highline course (it’s very high!), she was rescued with gentle, unhurried coaxing; despite the big traffic jam she’d created there was no hint of impatience in helping her move along. Our given time slot was 90 minutes, and it swiftly vanished. The walls were high enough to be challenging even for 6’2” 19yr olds (though we saw small 6yr olds scampering up them at terrifying speeds…), and a range of difficulties which meant a nervous first timer could still reach the top on some, and didn’t feel defeated when they couldn’t conquer the difficulty of others. To finish off the experience, at the end of the session they had two goes each on the Leap of Faith and the Death Slide. That’s a no from me. So HIGH. And the verdict of the jaded cynical teenagers? A unanimous “When can we go again?”. They’re demanding a return trip soon.
15yr old half way up the pipes – note people in background for scale!
We were provided with the Ultimate Adventure tickets (£30 per person), which included the Clip ‘n Climb, the HighLine, PierCave and two goes on both the Vertical Slide and Leap of Faith. Just Clip n Climb tickets are £12, and the Highline is £10. The Piercave is a set of dark tunnels with pits, slides and ball pools to replicate a caving experience. Smaller kids seemed to enjoy it hugely, but my teens suggested skipping it if you’re tall, a bigger build or not keen on confined spaces. Tickets must be booked in advance on the website here
