Katie Melua Guildford & London shows

Round & About

Posted on

All Areas

The star singer, 34, tells us about her latest tour, what she’s learnt in her 15-year career, and why her grandad is still her biggest fan.

In a vast warehouse on the outskirts of the market town of Bedford, Katie Melua puts the finishing touches to her European autumn and winter tour. As I watch one of the final production rehearsals I wonder what’s next for someone who has already achieved so much in such little time.

“Well I’ve been writing loads and I’m really excited about seeing what else is possible with records,” says Melua, wrapped in a golden Georgian robe, her chosen costume for this particular rehearsal. Behind her, as she performs, are beautiful projected animations of flora and fauna. This is as much an arts exhibition as it is a concert.

“I’m in an interesting place where my music’s not really pop and it doesn’t belong in R&B and those lanes – but it’s not really classical, jazz, blues or folk either. So it’s sort of in this space that gets inspired by lots of different genres.”

“I’m in an interesting place where my music’s not really pop and it doesn’t belong in R&B and those lanes – but it’s not really classical, jazz, blues or folk either. So it’s sort of in this space thatgets inspired by lots of different genres.”

Katie’s ability to so freely and adeptly move from genre to genre is clear to see in the live show as she skips between classical Georgian pieces, the tempo shifting alt-classical piece ‘The Flood’, and now iconic jazz/folk standards like ‘Nine Million Bicycles’ and ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’ her first ever single. But in the fifteen years since that single’s release, which positioned Katie as one of the biggest female stars of her generation, what has she learnt?

“When things took off at the start in such a big way, it did floor me a little bit! I didn’t expect it to be that big.” You can tell by the tone of Katie’s voice, that there’s a tiny part of her that still is awed by the massive success of her career. Her debut record has, at the time of writing, sold close to 2 million records in the UK alone and she’s one of two female artists to have seven consecutive top ten albums in the UK, the other being Kate Bush.

Katie tells me she’s been increasingly involved in the behind the scenes elements of this tour. Once again she will be joined on tour by The Gori Women’s Choir and her band, but for this tour she has also teamed up with the BAFTA nominated directing duo Karni and Saul who animated the award-winning music video for last year’s single ‘Perfect World’.

“Karni and Saul are brilliant visionaries,” she says. “They did such a beautiful job on the video. I can share my ideas and thoughts with them and then leave them to create their beautiful animations. After months of work we’re seeing what they have created and it’s even better than I thought it would be.”
Speaking about the process, Karni and Saul said that they “loved working with Katie on her last album, creating the magic world of sugar and ice in the music video for ‘Perfect World’. So when she approached us to help create a world and visual story for her brand new winter tour we jumped at the opportunity. Katie is a talented songwriter and performer and, though she knows what she wants, she also lets us have a lot of creative freedom…which we thrive off.”
Joining Katie on stage will be a “more traditional four-piece band” as well as The Gori Women’s Choir. Katie’s voice rises in excitement when talking about the new tour. “It’s going to be a winter show but then it’s going to transition into spring. I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited and happy about a tour before.”

‘In Winter’, Katie’s last album was a critical and commercial success, and a departure sonically from her previous records, with Katie getting back in touch with her Georgian routes (she was born there before moving to the UK in 1993). The record was also co-produced and co-mixed by Katie herself, and marks a new era for her as a creative force in her own work.

Since ‘In Winter’s’ release, Katie has become something of a national treasure, even receiving the key to the city of Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital.

“Oh my god, it was a bit bizarre and brilliant! They put on a gig for me, it was a birthday concert, and they said they had 10,000 people there. I had been told there would be a pause and the mayor would come up and there would be a surprise but I didn’t know what it would be. And then he made this really lovely speech and gave me a big golden key!”

“In Georgia, they are so positive when a single one of theirs does well, it just pumps you up with so much energy you literally feel like you’re floating. I think that’s what I’m happiest and proudest about, to be a Georgian.”

Do you ever think you’d make it onto a bank note, I jokingly ask?
“That seems like it’s a bit extreme! I don’t know. My grandad would be happy about that because he loves all that, when he goes to the market he’s always showing off about the fact he’s my grandad! In Georgia there isn’t that subtlety about success, if you’ve made it, it’s brilliant! You’ve got to be proud.”

It seems to be quite a British thing, to shy away from one’s success I suggest to her.

“Yeah and I’m more British in that way, so it really throws me over when [Georgians] are like that, but it does a great thing to your self-confidence. I still appreciate there’s still a lot to be done!”

With a stunning and engaging new tour and an exciting future, Katie should embrace her Georgian confidence, because this is an artist in her creative and musical stride. Katie Melua: The Ultimate Collection is out now. Katie tours the UK this winter, including a show at Guildford’s G Live on Tuesday, 4th December and London’s Central Hall Westminster on Saturday, 8th December.

For tickets visit https://www.gigsandtours.com/tour/katie-melua

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Let’s get crafty!

Liz Nicholls

Posted on

All Areas

Happy half term everyone! How’s it going so far?

My daughter and I stayed in our pyjamas until gone lunchtime on Monday then decided to get some fresh air by foraging for autumn leaves and returning for some Halloween-themed craft!

Blue Peter celebrated its 60th birthday last week and we’re inspired to make lots of Halloween crafts.

Here at Round & About we’re keen to promote responsible trick or treating, so please make sure that you only knock on doors which have a pumpkin or similarly spooky paraphernalia on display! The quandary we find ourselves in is that we want to welcome knockers on the evening but are also keen to go out & about so we try to race back as soon as we can!

There are so many great ideas for decorating pumpkins (or kits if you want to make it even easier!). This year we’ve decided to go for bats which was an easy and fun choice (see pic!).

We’ve also raided the craft cupboard at home to create some pipe cleaner critters – snakes and rainbow tarantulas! They look fab in our window web display, with a random collection of cacti and spooky bits and bobs.

We want to know and see what you’ve been making so please drop a line & share!

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Coast vs Country

Round & About

Posted on

All Areas

We chat to Scottish and Oxford-based television presenter of Coast vs Country

October has seen award-winning Oxford interior designer Kerr Drummond swap dreaming spires for scenic sand dunes as one of the co-hosts of Coast vs Country.

This Channel 4 show gives house-hunters the choice of a future in a rural idyll or seaside hotspot. In each episode, house hunters are shown three coastal properties and three countryside properties, as they decide whether their heart lies within the UK’s rolling hills and pretty villages, or in a stunning coastal location packed with seaside culture.

So, how did Kerr come to be involved in the programme? It turns out Coast vs Country is not his first television show. “It was the second television programme I had done,” he says. “I was approached in 2008 to do Kitchen SOS which was produced by a television company owned by Nadia Salwalha. They had sold the concept to UKTV’s Home channel, but one of the conditions was that one of the designers had to be up and coming and new to TV.

“I had just been nominated for Young Designer of the Year, so when they did a Google search they found me quite quickly. After three years in that show, I applied for Coast vs Country and it was either the instant rapport I got with the fellow presenter, Kirsty Duffy, or the fact that they were totally bored of interviewing people. Something must be going right, we are now on out third series!”

           

Are the presenters quite competitive… perhaps keeping score as comes across on screen? “Officially nope, but I think I ‘won’ series 1 and 2 against Kirsty. In series 3 the rural idyll is being looked after by Sara Damergi as Kirsty has had a break to have a baby. Fingers crossed I can keep my record up – not that I’m keeping score!”

What made Kerr choose Interior design as a career, considering he is now on television… “It wasn’t my first choice; I was going to go to drama school and my poor drama teacher and given me a lot of help filling in forms etc  – then I chickened out! I was flicking through a local paper looking at various jobs and somebody wanted a junior bathroom designer and I had the entry qualification – an ‘A’ at A-level art. I got on really well at the job and progressed to senior designer after four or five years before starting my own company.”

No doubt the properties on offer come from many centuries; is there a period in history Kerr would have loved to have been an interior designer, perhaps? “I guess being Scottish I would love to go back only a brief time to when Charles Rene Mackintosh was working in Glasgow. But, the other period that interests me is the time of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I when they went on travels all over the country staying with nobles who always tried to outdo the noble before. Though I guess the challenge for the designer was getting paid afterwards as a lot of the nobles overstretched their finances.”

For someone who extols the virtues of the coast, what is it that attracts Kerr to life in Oxford? “I moved down to Oxford with my parents when I was about three, but I really love the place and would not want to move. I live in the Osney area, and this summer could happily go swimming in the river or walk along the bank into the centre of Oxford. Then there are the travel links, I am only an hour by train from the centre of London, but nothing beats sitting outside a pub in Broad Street watching the setting sun glisten off the historic rooves of the colleges.”

Visit www.channel4.com/programmes/coast-vs-country

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Will Greenwood: nice try

Round & About

Posted on

All Areas

With the autumn rugby internationals on the horizon, we chat to rugby legend and father Will Greenwood.

Q. What would you do to help injury in the senior game?
“There is no perfect world – the key is to get children to enter adult rugby having had a good technical grounding in the contact area and tackle point and make sure they have had a safe and enjoyable journey along the way – that’s what’s most important.”

Q. You’re a great ambassador for children’s rugby – do schools do enough?
“Schools are constrained by budget, safety and numbers of qualified coaches. Mentoring schemes, access to club and academy coaches are improving and I hope it continues. I try to do my bit coaching at my local club [Maidenhead] and with my holiday coaching business Legend Holidays & Events.”

Q. With Twickenham ticket prices so high, would it be a good idea to play internationals elsewhere in the UK?
“I like having a ‘Fortress’ at Twickenham – not always a fortress – but it looks and feels like one to me! However I feel the occasional game could shift north – which it is next year… to St James’s Park with a world cup warm-up game which is exciting.”

Q. What would you say is the best moment of your playing career?
“That’s a tricky one, but probably Durham University 1991-92 – playing some great rugby with people who are my best friends to this day.”

Q. What do you think is the best position to play in to captain an international side?
“I don’t think there is a best necessarily – history would suggest the forwards – but great people come in all shapes and sizes. Rugby is a great sport that caters for all those shapes and sizes; a legendary captain could play in any position.”

Q. Is there another Martin Johnson playing now who can fill the role of captain?
“There will never be another Martin Johnson – unique and awesome! They’re big boots to fill if someone is up to the task.”

Q. Why are the All Blacks so good?!
“I think their success comes down to a few key factors; culture, geography, genetics and Importance of the game as a national sport.”

Q. How do you relax?
“I love a good Sudoku puzzle, whenever I get time!”

Q. What’s your favourite book?
“I’ve read some brilliant books, but my favourite would have to be Flashman Papers by George Macdonald Fraser.”

Q. Music?
“Easy: Oasis or Take That.”

Q. What are your ambitions for the next year on?
“My biggest ambition right now is to be a good Dad, it always comes before everything else.”

Visit Legend Holidays & Events

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

A print success story

Round & About

Posted on

All Areas

Round & About Magazine expands in to its ninth county as the family business continues to fly the flag for print publishing

In October this year we launched the latest edition of Round & About Magazine, for all the residents of Hungerford, Marlborough and Pewsey. As per all our other magazines it‘s Royal Mail delivered to all the homes within the RG17, SN8 and SN9 postcodes, giving local and national businesses complete penetration within the area.

The region is a good match for our target audience, complementing our current geographical reach and it will offer existing and new clients another great region to target.

To cope with the demands of ever more editions and content creation we are very pleased to have Karen Neville join us. Karen, who leaves her current role of production editor at Bath Chronicle, has worked in newspaper publishing, including for the Oxfordshire Guardian group, for many years, and thus has a sound knowledge of the areas we already reach. She will bring a great amount of experience and a valuable skillset from an international business.

Working with Liz Nicholls, our talented editor, Karen will help Round & About deliver ever more localised content, writing articles on issues that matter to our readers and help the machine run smoothly!

Our expansion over the last few years brought us to Howbery Park in 2015, enabling us to have the space to grow and offer employees an enjoyable environment to work in.

To help us reach our growth plans in 2019 we are expanding our advertising sales team. The right person doesn’t necessarily come from a sales background but someone that is a “people person”, has strong customer service skills and can offer sound solutions to potential advertisers, matching their needs with our offering.

If you feel you have the skill set to manage some existing accounts and develop new ones we would like to hear from you. Please email the sales director Luke Maitland on [email protected]

Find out more about our story

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Winter aches & pains?

Round & About

Posted on

All Areas

Pharmacist Kevin Leivers from The Naked Pharmacy explains how to find effective natural relief for joint and muscle inflammation this winter

As the temperature drops both athletes and elderly people alike notice their muscles and joints ache more and are slower to recover from injury.

There are a number of great natural remedies for these problems at The Naked Pharmacy. Two stand-out herbal products that can be applied regularly to aching muscles and joints are Arnica Massage Balm and Copper Ointment. Both are effective for reducing rheumatic pain in addition to improving circulation.

We also recommend supplementing your diet with high-strength tumeric capsules. This is a proven, natural and low-risk solution for a number of conditions including arthritis and sporting injuries. The therapeutic benefits of turmeric are produced by a class of compounds in turmeric called curcuminoids.

For the turmeric to be effective it must contain the correct strength; a minimum of 360mg curcuminoids in each capsule. Secondly, it needs to be formulated to enable the curcuminoid active compounds to be absorbed well in the gut.

On its own, only a small amount of the curcuminoids in turmeric are absorbed into the blood. Adding piperine (black pepper) resolves this issue. When piperine is mixed with turmeric, the total curcuminoid absorption increases significantly.

A turmeric extract that contains the highest strength of curcuminoids will be the most effective compared with extracts containing only curcumin.

For more advice visit The Naked Pharmacy or to speak to a pharmacist  call 01483 685630.

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Thick & thin: hair loss tips

Round & About

Posted on

All Areas

Jamie Stevens, hairdresser to the stars including Hugh Grant and Olly Murs, talks frankly about the sensitive topic of balding – and how to combat it

Thinning hair is a subject that’s close to my heart. Researching it has helped me understand the reasons for hair loss, how to slow it and, most vitally, how to help conceal it without a hair transplant.

I’ve seen the effect hair loss has on confidence – our survey of 2,000 men revealed many would rather have a small penis, be cheated on or have their internet history made public than lose their hair. A fifth think thinning hair makes them less attractive and a quarter are worried it makes them look older.

Hair loss causes real anxiety. As someone who has thinning hair myself, I hope getting men talking will stop them suffering in silence. There are lots of options. Clever cuts can make hair look thicker, and hair fibres and disguise spray cover a balding spot well. Hair plugs are a more expensive but long-term option for men who really don’t want to be bald. There does come a point when shaving is best but some men go too early – Prince William, for example, probably didn’t need the buzz cut as soon as he did.

Tackle thinning hair early and you can hang on to hair for longer. Grooming staples are the foundation for any good haircare regime; anti hair-loss shampoo and conditioner plus a treatment spray help reduce the rate of hair loss by prolonging the growth phase.

About 70% of men will be affected by some sort of male pattern baldness, from completely losing the hair, to receding or thinning in areas. Genetics affect different areas of the hair. The top area will thin and fall out, but the gene that affects below the recession and occipital bone (what we call the “Friar Tuck” area) means this doesn’t thin or fall out in tandem with the top. The simple top tip for cutting thinning hair is the back and sides should be shorter and thinner than the top. Also try colouring: darker hair looks thicker, and colour swells the hair shaft to enhance thickness. Volumising products also offer short-term improvement. Disguise colour spray will instantly make hair look thicker; hair fibres matched to your hair colour are another instant solution to make the hair look thicker.

Find a style to suit fine hair; for example, adjust a parting to avoid bald patches. Longer hair weighs more and may leave more scalp exposed. Never rub wet hair with a towel: thin hair is fragile and can break, so pat dry. A silk pillowcase causes less damage.

Practice makes perfect – if I asked you to spray a car it’d take more than one go! Look online for how-to videos and avoid wet gels or waxes. Pastes and clays are best as they are more matte.

Click here to check out Jamie’s products.

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Lucky Neem Cocktail Recipe

Round & About

Posted on

All Areas

Gin-lovers! Check out this Lucky Neem cocktail recipe courtesy of Kricket in White City, London

Ingredients

50ml Opihr Gin
25ml Freshly squeezed lime juice
20ml Sugar Syrup
3 Slices of Cucumber 
5-8 Curry


Method:

  1. Drop the sliced cucumber into the small tin and muddle
  2. Drop the curry leaves into the small tin and firmly press, just bruising them as not to turn bitter
  3. Add all other ingredients
  4. Add ice and shake
  5. Double Strain into coupe
  6. Garnish with slice of cucumber with a curry leaf on top floating.

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

The Winter Prune

Round & About

Posted on

All Areas

People say to me ‘It must be nice to have the winter off….’ Well it is actually one of the busiest times for horticulturists as it’s pruning season.

It is a challenge to identify the plants, know how they are pruned and then carry it out. Cathie has some advice for those brave enough to venture out!

Plant Identification

Wisteria is obvious, most people are aware that theyhave one clambering up the front of the house. Apple trees can be more tricky but generally the big ones are pruned in the Winter whereas the trained ones are Summer pruned to reduce vigour. Roses are almost impossible but for pruning it’s essential to know as you could inadvertently cut all the flowers off!

Where to start

Wisteria: Take all the long bits out and any dead. Untangle from wires, phone lines , drainpipes and take out of gutters. It’s essential to have a good support system to tie the branches too and remember that any long wispy bits are future branches so keep them to a minimum.

Apples: Remove any congested branches, reduce long extension growths and take out anything dead and remove old fruit. Try to learn the difference between a fruiting bud and a leaf bud. It’s also important to know whether your tree produces fruit at the end of a stem (tip bearer) or on short stems (spur bearer)

Roses: Remove any dead, weak, diseased and congested stems. If you do nothing else this will help. Try to ascertain whether your rose is a climber or a rambler, a bush or a shrub or an old fashioned type as they are all pruned differently.

The Prune

Wisteria: February, reduce the shoots to a short spur and keep it simple! Try to only keep a few main branches or you will be overwhelmed with growth. Nothing looks tidier than a professionally pruned Wisteria in the Winter followed by gorgeous blooms in late Spring. Wisteria are high maintenance and need pruning at lease twice a year.

Apples: Identify the fluffy fruit buds from the flat leaf ones and reduce the vegetative growth to encourage the flowers and fruit. Try to open up the centre of the tree to allow in light and air. Annual pruning ensures a healthier tree and good quality fruit.

Roses: Can be cut back harder that you think to encourage vigour. Climbing roses can be pruned so all side shoots that have flowered to a short spur. Rambling roses are pruned after flowering in the summer. If you know whether you rose is a bush or shrub variety they can be pruned accordingly. Cut just above a bud at a light angle to encourage healing. Pencil thickness is a good rule of thumb.

Cathie’s Gardening School Services now taking bookings for Spring

  1. Horticultural consultancy teaching you in your own garden.
  2. Cathie’s Garden Army of horticulturists to transform your garden following a consultancy
  3. Don’t leave it too late to book in your Winter pruning session!

Email [email protected] for more info on Cathie’s Gardening School

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter:

Cosy cravings

Round & About

Posted on

All Areas

In the heart of winter sometimes we crave informal, uncomplicated, wholesome food. These recipes from Katie Kingsley will provide comfort and nourishment through the festive period.

Roti with curry sauce

(makes eight)

These are a fitting evening snack for when lunch has been particularly late or large. Prepare the roti the night before. In a large bowl mix 400g plain flour with 2tsp fine salt and add 200ml lukewarm water, gradually, to form a dough. Knead until elastic, smooth and shiny then wrap in cling film and rest for 30 minutes. Divide into eight balls, roll in a generous amount of vegetable oil, place on an oiled plate then cover and chill overnight. Oil your work surface and take a ball in the palm of your hand then flatten it and use a rolling pin to get the dough as thin as possible. Roll it up as you would a crepe then roll into a snail shape bringing the end back and tucking into the middle before rolling out again into a disc about the size of a large frying pan. Heat your frying pan over a medium heat, and fry until golden bubbles form, brushing both sides with a little oil as you fry, then fold before serving. To make the curry sauce add a tin of coconut milk, 3tbsp smooth peanut butter, 2tbsp soft packed brown sugar, 2tbsp red curry paste, 2tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy), 1tbsp soy, 2tsp tamarind paste, three minced garlic cloves and a pinch of salt to a medium saucepan, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until thick. Leftover curry sauce is great made into katsu chicken.

Parsnip pancakes with sour cream and caramelised onion

(makes eight – ten)

A delicious snack exploiting this sweet winter root. Halve three white onions and slice into half moons then fry in 2tbsp oil until starting to brown. Add a knob of butter, 1tsp soft brown sugar, 1tsp fennel seeds and a sprinkle of salt and continue to sauté until they are caramelised. Parboil six parsnips for 2-3 minutes then drain, running them under cool water and dry off as much as possible before grating them (a food processor makes light work of this). Add a leek finely chopped (white part only), one large lightly beaten egg, 3tbsp plain flour and season generously before mixing together using a spatula. Heat 2tbsp of oil with a knob of butter in a large frying pan and form balls with your hands of the parsnip mixture then use the spatula to press down once in the pan and flatten to about 1.5cm thick. Cook each side until crisp and golden. Serve with a dollop of sour cream with fresh chopped chives mixed through and caramelised onion.

Chunky chicken minestrone

(serves four – six)

Just the thing to nurse winter ailments and so simple to put together. Quarter a whole chicken leaving the skin on or use legs if you are cooking for fewer people. Season the chicken with salt, heat oil in a sauté pan then brown on both sides before transferring to a plate. Pour 200ml white vermouth into the hot pan to deglaze then transfer to a casserole or heavy saucepan, with the chicken and two tins of rinsed butterbeans. Add 500ml good quality chicken stock and a few tbsp chopped rosemary then partially cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add a few handfuls of minestrone which cooks in the broth, season to taste and serve the chicken as whole pieces or remove and shred before returning to the pan. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

Sussex Pond Pudding

(serves four – six)

Just the thing to nurse winter ailments and so simple to put together. Quarter a whole chicken leaving the skin on or use legs if you are cooking for fewer people. Season the chicken with salt, heat oil in a sauté pan then brown on both sides before transferring to a plate. Pour 200ml white vermouth into the hot pan to deglaze then transfer to a casserole or heavy saucepan, with the chicken and two tins of rinsed butterbeans. Add 500ml good quality chicken stock and a few tbsp chopped rosemary then partially cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add a few handfuls of minestrone which cooks in the broth, season to taste and serve the chicken as whole pieces or remove and shred before returning to the pan. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

 Click here for more of our recipes

Get the latest news straight to your inbox

Choose which newsletter: