Professional Documents
Culture Documents
MCL December 2014
MCL December 2014
February 2015
Issue 59
celebrating
your big day
We join a top chef at his wedding
and bring you tips for yours...
never
forget
good for
the soul
contents
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29
34
38
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48
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60
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82
Contacts
editor: Jo Barnes
Contact: 01633 777240
e-mail: jo.barnes@gwent-wales.co.uk
design: Katie Adams, Darren James
advertising: Alia Sarsam
Contact: 01633 777285
Web: www.monmouthshirecountylife.co.uk
twitter: @MCLmagazine
Facebook: bit.ly/MCLonfacebook
Cover: Image by Zoe Christou Welsh feautirng
11-year-old Cwmbran model Zoe Bridges at
Tintern Abbey
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p
s
o
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e
Tim
a little love
around the
t
s
ju
is
y
a
D
s
Valentine
you buy that
l
il
w
ift
g
t
a
h
corner. W
l?
someone specia
Cookie cutters.
4.99. www.oakroomshop.co.uk
Tin. 4.
www.onebrowncow.co.uk
6
Wooden candle
stick. 14.99. www.
retreat-home.com
Frame. 15.99.
www.retreat-home.com
Countynews
Coding project gets a funding boost
Chepstow Library has been awarded a share of 70,000
worth of funding to promote its new coding project.
The library will be awarded between 10,000 and
15,000 from the Carnegie UK Trust to help promote its
project The Ideas Garage.
The project will create a community-led coding space for
young people aged 11 to 17 to help them gain experience
in coding to create and develop websites.
The library was one of seven selected from across the
UK and Ireland to benefit from the funds, which form part
African teacher
comes to town
A Malawi headteacher visited the Dell
Primary School in Chepstow to talk to pupils
and thank them for their fundraising efforts.
The Chepstow primary has for the past
two years been a partner school to Yankho
Elementary School in Lilongwe and has
raised money for two pupils from the south
east African country to be able to attend
school.
Austin Assan (above), the headteacher of
Yankho Elementary, came to Chepstow to
address the assembly and talk to the pupils.
Stephen King, headteacher at the Dell,
said: There was a lovely buzz around the
school last week. Everywhere Mr Assad
went he was bombarded with questions
from the pupils which was great.
We are very aware that Children
here in Chepstow could easily stay in the
Monmouthshire bubble but as a school
we wanted to give them the opportunity
to experience the wider world and for
them to be able to speak to someone from
southeast Africa.
Town tapestry
reaches completion
I
MonMouth sChool
announCes the
aPPoIntMent oF a
neW headMaster
MonMouth
FIlM CoMPany
WIns baFta
CyMru
A Monmouth-based film production company
has won a British Academy of Film and
Television Arts Cymru award.
The Portrait, produced by Eclectic Films
in collaboration with Dublin-based Blinder
Films, received the short form and animation
award-sponsored by High Performance
Computing at an awards ceremony in Wales
Millennium Centre, Cardiff.
The company has a handful of awards to
its name for the internationally acclaimed film
The Orchard which include the 2014 Van
Gogh Best Feature Film Screenplay gong.
The Portraitwas written by Ewan Forster
and produced by Clive Myer, Lynda MyerBennett and Katie Holly. It was also selected
for production by the British Film Institute
as one of the first films in its new BFI Shorts
Scheme.
dr andrew daniels
D
The film stars Juliet Stephenson, Joss Ackland
and Neil Pearson, and tells the story of a family torn apart
by the grandfathers involvement in the Nazi Hadamar
extermination camp. It examines complex dilemmas within
three generations of one family.
Chris Forster, director of The Portrait, pictured, said:
On behalf of everyone involved in the making of The
Portrait we are absolutely thrilled that the film has won a
BAFTA Cymru award.
Eclectic Films was set up by Clive Myer and Lynda MyerBennett to produce and distribute film and video work of a
distinctive and innovative nature reflecting the artistic and
aesthetic merits of a more European cinematic culture and
this award is tribute to their success.
Countynews
Abergavenny cycling organiser
receives highest award
Abergavenny Festival of Cycling
organiser Bill Owen, pictured, has
received one of the highest honours his
sport can award the British Cycling
Gold Badge of Honour.
Owen stood down from the Board
of Directors at British Cycling having
served 13 years on the board and, in
that time, brought some of the biggest
races and events to Wales.
Owen is the only Welshman to have
been decorated with the Gold Badge
of Honour and also received a jersey
personally signed by Tour de France
champion and Olympic gold medalist
Sir Bradley Wiggins.
His dedication to the sport in
Wales saw him serve as chairman and
President of Welsh Cycling for more
than 20 years. He was elected to the
British Cycling Board in 2001, having
also served on the British Cycling
Professional Racing Committee and the
British Cycling executive committee in
the 1990s..
Owen was a founding member of
both Abergavenny Cycling Clubs
Abergavenny RC and CC Abergavenny
- and began promoting grassroots and
professional races in 1985.
The GP of Wales is one of many
events that are part of the Abergavenny
Festival of Cycling, which Owen
launched in 2007.
Since being elected to the Board,
Owen has brought the British Cycling
National Road Championships to
Wales an astonishing five times, the
last of which was this summer when
around 40,000 people crammed into
Monmouthshire in June to see both the
Museums Service
wins funding for an
exciting new Scheme
E
Sock it
to me
8
7
Longsleeved
button down
12, burton
NEW
YEAR, NEW
WARDROBE
Going back to the basics By Josh Knapman
ralph
Lauren pack
of two 14.99,
getthelabel.
com
Socks In
A Box
17.50,
White Stu
14
short-sleeve
crew necks
17.50,
m&s
cable-knit
cardigan
99.95,
Lands end
cable-knit
jumper
35,
burton
dark brown
cords 99,
jaeger.co.uk
brown suede
desert boots
45, mantaray
at debenhams
A Monmouthshire
meander with Nigel Jarrett
Continuity triumphs over nostalgia as I move
house from a place in Chepstow to a place
in Abergavenny. (Excuse the vagueness, but
there are some weird people about.)
Meandering in Monmouthshire literally
along country lanes, towns and mountain
tops or mentally by thinking stray thoughts
on this and that is not so much a result of
cultural and geographical similarities as a
feeling of being at home anywhere in the
county.
I cant remember the first time I visited
Abergavenny market the indoor one with
all the stalls except to note that it always
appeared to coincide with the livestock one,
now departed to some neutral location of
interest only to those who buy and sell farm
animals.
Visiting Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria for
family reasons during the last three years
Ive watched a vast acreage of sheds and
pens being built next to the M6 near Kendal.
Its been another case of moving a weekly
gathering of Ambridge folk out of town.
Like Abergavenny, Kendal is no longer
chokka every seven days with begrimed
Land Rovers and trailers, nor do its pubs
bristle with conversations about foot rot and
European subsidies.
The result, if we
bypass a series of
triggered happenings, is
that agricultural produce
is more efficiently
exchanged and, in
theory, the foodstuffs
resulting therefrom are
not as expensive as they
might have been.
This always seemed
illogical and fanciful to
me, and the switch of
scene appeared to be
more to do with the
convenience of farmers
and auctioneers. But
perhaps that amounts to the same thing.
In any case, the term farmers market
now means an operation, small or sizeable,
in which the farmers family and fringe
stallholders sell their produce and the
famers themselves ply customers with
vacuum-packed cuts of beef, veal and
venison from their own herds.
Thats what happens at Orton, in old
Westmorland, once voted the best farmers
market of its kind in the UK. I got round it
in a trice, even taking in a stall selling potted
18
MyCountyLife
Estate agent Mark Roberts chats to
MCL about Tintern Abbey, Billy
Connolly and Usk Show...
Who are you and what do you
do?
I am Mark Roberts, managing
director of Roberts & Co Estate
Agents, which incorporates
Roberts & Co Lettings and The
Town & Country Collection. I live
just outside Raglan.
What do you like most about
living in Monmouthshire?
It is unashamedly and solidly
rural but easily accessible to the
country, towns and cities.
Where would you recommend
as an unforgettable dining
experience in Monmouthshire?
The Carpenters Arms, Coed
y Paen. Its a traditional, warm,
welcoming inn which keeps
a good pint and serves great,
wholesome, honest-to-goodness
country food.
What do you tell friends about
Monmouthshire who have
never been here?
The homes that we have here in
Monmouthshire are equivalent
to any that they have just across
the border but we also have
the most marvellous views. We
have more castles, admittedly
in a variety of states of repair,
than anywhere else. We have
Tintern Abbey, the River Usk
and Wye salmon rivers, were
steeped in history and we have
mile upon mile of unspoilt rolling
countryside, woods, forests and
hills to explore as well as brilliant
golf if thats what you like and
Chepstow Racecourse too!
Who would be your ideal
companion on a trip round
Monmouthshire?
Billy Connolly. He is a really
intriguing guy. His comedy is
often surreal but he is nonetheless
a fascinating man. Id love to show
him around Monmouthshire and
get his take on what he sees and
20
old pictures. left: a welcome home reception in tidenham to men returning from the First World War
below: staff and patients at gwy house, Chepstow, which became a red Cross hospital in 1915
both from Chepstow and the river Wye in old Photographs from the collections of Chepstow Museum
21
A day out
with the hounds
The traditions of the countryside are often those which
have been passed from generation to generation, and
in that way preserve and nourish skills that would
otherwise be lost, as Will Loram nds out...
Peter and
sue burrows
grandson,
a young
supporter
inspecting next
seasons entry!
25
26
29
30
Countybusiness
ENGINEERS
STEP OUT TO
RAISE MONEY
FOR CHARITY
HMRC SWOOP IN
ON SOLICITORS
By Elliott Buss, UHY Hacker Young
Solicitors have become the latest set of
professionals to be targeted by HMRC for
not declaring income.
Alongside the HMRC task forces, such
crackdowns have targeted professionals
such as doctors and dentists since 2011.
The crackdowns have raised 1bn
so far and HMRC hope to increase this
figure with access to legal aid data and
third party information to gather serous
evidence to uncover any tax evasion.
As is the case with other crackdowns
solicitors who come forward unprompted
will receive lower penalties than those
who choose to stay quiet.
The opportunity to disclose runs from
December 8, 2014 to June 9, 2015, and
is for solicitors working for themselves,
via a partnership (and LLPs) or limited
companies.
This is an opportunity for solicitors to
come forward and bring their affairs up
to date.
Should you have any queries please
contact Elliott Buss, senior tax manager e.buss@uhy-uk.com
Rural scheme
attracts 3.3m
C
the adventa team
34
Countybusiness
Cooking oil can
now be recycled
Used cooking oil is now being accepted and recycled
across all Monmouthshire Household Waste Recycling
Centres.
Monmouthshire County Council together with its
recycling sites contractor, Viridor, has installed special
tanks for five of the major recycling sites across the
area.
Martin Williams, Viridors Area Manager, said:
Used cooking oil recycling tanks are already
successfully operating at a huge number of Viridors
sites across the UK. Its fantastic to know that residents
of south east Wales can all contribute to the nations
electricity generation in such a simple and effective
way.
The new tanks will divert as much used cooking oil
as possible from either costly landfill or clogging up the
countys drains.
The oil will be used to generate clean, green
electricity after being processed by Living Fuels - the
UKs leading used cooking oil to renewable energy
eco-firm.
Living Fuels operations director, Rob Murphy said:
It has often been difficult to dispose of used cooking
oil. Whether sent to costly landfill - where it produces
harmful greenhouse gases or poured down the sink,
it currently costs around 15m a year to repair the
havoc it wreaks in damaging drains.
The chemical-free, filtering and settling of used
cooking oil creates the bioliquid LF100 which is then
used in combined heat and power facilities. Living Fuels
estimates that the average three-litre contents of a
south-east Wales chip fryer generates enough power
to make 720 cups of tea.
1.
5.
6.
3.
2.
4.
7.
www.monmouthshirecountylife.co.uk
to advertise in the next edition contact
Follow us on Facebook
bit.ly/MCLonfacebook
In the baby
business
Millie Hedges chats to a Monmouthshire
mum who took matters into her own hands
when it came to deciding what her baby
was going to wear...
38
Ffion Currie, of
BouLou, andher
daughter Llio
Bringing
up baby
Millie Hedges chooses some great
gifts for expectant parents who
want more than just nappies at
their baby shower...
8
3
5
2
7
Making strides
for walking
groups and
volunteers
Zara bligh
launches
the online
walkers
toolkit
43
Away with
the fairies in the
Brecon Beacons
Will Loram introduces his family to his beloved Beacons...
45
46
EAT
6 pages of recipes
and news from
around the county
CHEPSTOW
Max takes over kitchen at CHEF
CROWNED
The Felin Fach Griffin
BRAINS BEST
M
ax Wilson has been appointed as head chef at The Felin
Fach Griffin, near Brecon.
He joins the award-winning pub with rooms from his
position at the two AA Rosette New Yard restaurant on the
Trelowarren estate near Falmouth. He was previously Head
Chef at the St. Martins Hotel in the Scillies and before that
worked in senior roles at Seaham Hall and Hartwell House.
The Felin Fach Griffin (pictured above) has the only Bib
Gourmand in Wales and has been included without break in
the Good Food Guide, Hardens and the Good Hotel Guide
for more than a decade.
The Griffin is five-time winner (and current holder of) The
Good Pub Guides Dining Pub of the Year in Wales and was
recently one of three Hotels of the Year in the new Alasdair
Sawdays Hotels & Inns Guide. It has also just been announced
as one of two runners up in the Hotel of the Year category
for Sawdays 2014 Awards.
Edmund Inkin, joint owner of EATDRINKSLEEP, which
runs The Griffin as part of its group, said: We ran an
exhaustive process to find the right person to take on the
legacy of some fine chefs who have worked with us at The
Griffin. Max stood head and shoulders above the rest and we
are delighted he has agreed to work with us.
poverty.
And the FUN Kitchen Project is aimed at low
income families, young and single parents, who
can teach budget management and save money
by learning to cook healthy food at low cost. It is
hoped it will improve peoples quality of life by
reducing obesity and improving health.
The centre is based on the Deri View Primary
Schools ground on Llywynu Lane.
EAT
let the
sunshine
in
Chefsprofile
Clive Williams
4
5
EAT
Lets eat
Chocolate
Brownies
This is long on ingredients but
delivers the most amazing results.
A good brownie must be ber rich
and indulgent and never ever dry!
Go easy on the cooking it must
be gooey and soft in the middle.
This recipe was given to me by
a pastry chef from a fabulous
restaurant in California, which is
sadly no longer there but safe to
say it is the best brownie I have
ever tasted.
Matt Tebbutt
INGREDIENTS:
250g salted butter
350g plain chocolate
20g pure cocoa powder
INGREDIENTS:
New York
Cheesecake
METHOD:
lemon zest.
3) Pour the batter into
the cake tin and bake
for 1-1 1/2 hours. If it
begins to pick up too
much colour, loosely
cover the top with foil.
It is done when it no
longer wobbles in
the middle.
4) Once cooked, turn the
oven off and open the
door. Leave the
cheesecake to cool in the
oven for an hour or so.
Once completely cool,
cover the cheesecake and
chill in the fridge
overnight to set fully.
Serve the next day.
5) To make the berry
compote, simply warm
the berries with the sugar
and vanilla, if
using, in a medium
saucepan. Taste and
serve alongside a wedge
of the super
delicious cheesecake.
Gravlax with
Rye Bread
The traditional way was burying or curing fish in salt.
It originates from a time when fishermen would dig
their catch into the sand to preserve it for some time,
whilst they went back out to sea. These days weve
dropped the sand and just opt for salt, sugar, herbs
and spices. It is incredibly easy to make at home and
can elevate the most mundane piece of farmed salmon
into something quite beautiful.
INGREDIENTS:
1kg side of fresh salmon, filleted, skin on, pin boned
For the cure
150g granulated sugar
200g coarse sea salt
1 big bunch of dill, cleaned and chopped
A large shot of vodka (150ml)
A few crushed juniper berries, black and pink
peppercorns
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Rye Bread
Ingredients:
www.monmouthshirecountylife.co.uk
TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT EDITION CONTACT
ANDREA HALL ON 01633 777207
Follow us on Facebook
bit.ly/MCLonfacebook
Make your
day a fab one
7
6
1
2
Real life
WEDDING
Where did you get the cars, cake, photography and owers
from?
C&K: Photographs were taken by Nanette of Hepburn
photography. We love Nanettes relaxed approach to taking
pictures throughout the day.
The cake was made by Chris and Andy Fellows, the pastry chef
at The Crown.
Flowers were created by Jayne Hill, a friend of Chriss family,
who has also done a fantastic job throughout the year with our
outside terrace.
David, a family friend of Kirsty, very kindly was our chauffeur for
the day in his vintage Jaguar.
What was the best bit of the day?
C&K: It was great to enjoy such a relaxed day with all our family
and friends. We had family and friends from South Africa, Spain,
France and across the UK who we hadnt seen for a long time. It
was really special to have photos taken at Tintern Abbey, a place
we have loved since moving to Whitebrook.
And what about the honeymoon? Was it a surprise and where
did you go?
C&K: We had a couple of days away at a nearby holiday cottage
in Brockweir, a short break before back to work on the Tuesday.
57
Creating the
perfect day,
just for you
Bella Country Weddings is
a family-run business which
prides itself as being one of a
select number of specialists
offering the complete package
to its clients...
59
60
Top: Munich
Bottom: The very moving American
war cemetary close to Omaha Beach in
Normandy
Fact file:
Eurotunnel: www.eurotunnel.com
Brittany Ferries: www.brittany-ferries.co.uk
Countyeducation
Picking the right school for your child
can be daunting. This section brings
you some ideas of the places
locally you could choose...
outandabout
Out
CHRISTMAS FAIR
St Pierre, A Marriott Hotel and Country Club, hosted its third Christmas
fair in aid of St Davids Hospice Care. Crowds enjoyed a whole host of stalls,
entertainment from various music groups and the youngsters got to meet
Father Christmas.
and about
66
Jonathan Beatson-Hird,
Lennart Jonsson
67
Paul Fosh
Katy Mortimer, from JLL, Heather Lawrence from JLL, Sarah Clewett from
Berry Smith LLP, Martin Pursell from Berry Smith LLP, Keri Harding-Jones and
Matthew Jones from Fletcher Morgan
Sandra McAlister, Leanne Owen, Gemma Davies, and Ellen Mort, guests
of HSJ
Sue Like, from Likeys Ltd, Paul Fosh, guest speaker Lowri Morgan, and Martin Like
from Likeys Ltd
county
homes
lampshade. 40.
www.christopherdaniel.co.uk
Clock. 74.
www.artisanti.com
ITS HIP TO
BE SQUARE
Cushion. 90.
www.fermoie.com
10
8
11
81
A look BACk
iN TiMe...
Hidden
gems
By Naylor Firth
ur county is an
anomaly! Our
existing boundaries
tell us we now live in
Monmouthshire again after a
flirtation (which only lasted
22 years) with becoming a
part of Gwent, which itself
had evolved by amalgamating
the original Monmouthshire
with Newport. Any clearer?
After the Romans left
Britain in the mid fifth
century, the Anglo-Saxon
communities gradually
formed themselves into
conveniently-sized chunks
called shires based on
existing powerful units under
a royally appointed official
called a sheriff.
Following the Conquest in
1066, the Normans imposed
their own system with
counties administered by
their equivalent of a sherriff,
a count.
The count name didnt
stick, but the county name
did and so Britain was left
with a fabric of shires and
counties, each one with a
sheriff.
This piecemeal
arrangement resulted in
numerous examples where
parcels of land belonging to
other counties and shires
found themselves located in a
neighbouring one.
One of the best examples
was the location of the
sizeable Flint Detached in
Shropshire, which existed
for nearly 450 years until
the 1974 Local Government
reorganisation.
Old maps of
Monmouthshire showed that
our county too had examples
of both land belonging to
adjacent counties located
within our boundaries
and land belonging to
Monmouthshire located
82
in another countys
boundaries.
William Camdens 1610
map of Monmouthshire
shows an area to the west of
the Llanthony Valley (which
he called The Fothock)
belonging to Herefordshire.
The correct Welsh spelling
is Ffwddog and this hamlet
with a land area barely six
miles by a half a mile was not
taken into Monmouthshire
until 1893. The enclave also
included another very small
area called Bwlch Trewyn
which was transferred to
Monmouthshire in an Act
of1844.
Camdens map conversely
shows an enclave of
Monmouthshire tucked into
a bend north of the River
Wye at Welsh Bicknor in
Herefordshire. This parcel
was also transferred in 1844
to Herefordshire.
John Carys 1787 map
of Monmouthshire shows
a further example where a
small area of just over three
acres north of Devauden
called Crooked Billet was
labelled as being part of
Herefordshire. How this
relic came about is a puzzle
but it was transferred into
Monmouthshire in the 1844
Act.
An excellent review,
with many illustrations, of
Monmouthshires historic
maps can be found in DPM
Michaels The Mapping of
Monmouthshire published
in 1985 by Regional
Publications (Bristol) Ltd.
ISBN 0 906570 18 2.
Left: Seargents
the printers were
at one time the
largest printers in
Abergavenny. This
undated picture is
from Abergavenny
Through Time by
Irena Morgan.
Below: Caldicot
village from the
church tower in
1957. From Caldicot
and the Villages of
the Moor in old
photographs Vol 1
by Malcolm D Jones.