The UK’s largest garden building display site offers buildings to suit every home
Want to give your garden a fresh look? Bourne Buildings has the answer at its site in Farnham where you can find more than 200 buildings on display to choose from.
Celebrating its 30th year this year, this family run business is continuing to go from strength to strength, supplying quality garden buildings from sheds, greenhouses, and playhouses to garden offices, summerhouses, animal housing, workshops, garages and garden bars.
Get in touch and discuss your requirements and the options available. Many buildings can be designed to your specific layout and with installation offered and base laying in many areas, Bourne Buildings are the place to go for the best prices, best service and best selection.
For just £65pp guests can enjoy a beautifully curated menu, complete with a Forever Rose to take home
This Valentine’s Day, The Ivy Collection is inviting guests through its doors to celebrate their love stories and enjoy its carefully crafted, three-course Valentine’s Day set menu. Available at restaurants around the UK from 12th to 16th February, the menu includes a starter, main, sides to share and a dessert per person and provides the perfect array of dishes for celebrating the day with a loved one. What’s more, guests who enjoy the Valentine’s Day set menu will also receive a Forever Rose to take home; a beautifully preserved real red rose, presented in an elegant gift box.
To create the Valentine’s Day set menu, The Ivy’s executive chefs have carefully crafted a tempting selection of dishes for guests to enjoy while creating and celebrating their love stories with their significant other. The menu which pulls on decadent flavours and seasonal ingredients, pairs beautifully with the lush and lively palette of Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé, which will also be available for guests to enjoy.
To start, guests can choose from a creamy and indulgent Stilton and Walnut Cheese Soufflé, twice baked in a cream sauce, and The Ivy’s Classic Crispy Duck Salad, with roasted cashew nuts, sesame, watermelon, ginger and hoisin sauce. The Classic Prawn Cocktail with marinated avocado and a tangy Marie Rose sauce is also on the menu and is a perfect celebratory starter for an evening of romance.
When it comes to mains, the menu includes a velvety Foraged Wild Mushroom and Truffle Linguine; Wild mushrooms sautéed to create a sauce with plant-based cream cheese, tossed with linguine and topped with pine nuts, handpicked rocket and shaved truffle. A decadent Chicken Supreme Milanese with Truffle Sauce, consisting of a succulent, crumbed chicken breast topped with a fried hen’s egg and served with parmesan and lamb’s lettuce salad, is also joined by Blackened Cod Fillet and a classic Fillet of Beef (7oz/198g, £4 supplement) as a choice of main.
To finish, the star of the sweets is the delectable Cupid’s Love Heart; a rich and silky white chocolate and vanilla parfait adorned with rose petals, created exclusively for Valentine’s Day by The Ivy’s executive chefs. Guests can also select the iconic Ivy Chocolate Bombe or for something equally tempting, the Crème Brûlée is also part of the selection; Classic set vanilla custard is topped with a caramelised sugar crust, waiting to be cracked with the side of a spoon.
Following an evening of fabulous food and perfect company, guests will not leave empty handed. Each pair who selects the Valentine’s Day set menu will receive a Forever Rose, allowing them to take a piece of their romantic evening at The Ivy home with them. Presented in a beautiful Ivy gift box, the Forever Rose, a real, preserved rose, will last up to three years when cared for, and serves as a symbol of all the enduring love stories that have sparked at The Ivy since its debut in London’s West End over 100 years ago.
The Valentine’s Day set menu will be available at The Ivy Collection restaurants around the UK* between 12th and 16th February and will be a bookable experience on Open Table.
Six by Nico, the creative dining concept renowned for its ever-evolving six-course tasting menus, is bringing its most immersive and innovative experience yet to Oxford, ‘Murder on the Midnight Express’
The new dining experience and six course tasting menu is inspired by the world-renowned Oxfordshire murder mystery author Agatha Christie’s novel of the same name. This innovative concept will expertly blend mystery and storytelling with food and drink, setting a new standard for customer engagement.
Diners are invited to step aboard the Midnight Express to travel back to the 1930s, join the dots and unravel the mystery. Inspired by classic French cuisine, six delicious courses immerse you in a blood curdling tale of foul play.
Oxford is renowned as the UK home of some of the most iconic and much-loved murder mystery stories, from Agatha Christie’s novels to TV sows like Morse and Midsomer Murders, creating a perfect synergy with the new ‘Murder on the Midnight Express’ menu.
Founder Nico Simeone said: “Murder on the Midnight Express’ is more than just a tasting menu; it’s a journey that introduces ‘immersion’ to our creative framework, adding to our existing sources of inspiration that cover destinations, memories, and ideas.
“We’ve always believed in pushing creative boundaries, and this new creative pillar of immersion adds something missing from the dining scene. It’s not just about food; it’s about giving our guests an experience for them to step into. From the moment they sit down they are provided with clues and case files along with props and story-driven elements to solve the crime.”
With this new direction, the Six by Nico creative team have pushed themselves into new territories and setting the stage for future themes that seek to captivate and surprise guests.
As part of this change, the restaurant brand has introduced an extended dining slot of 2.5 hours, giving their guests an additional 30 minutes to enjoy a more relaxed and immersive experience.
Nico added: “We have always been dedicated to delivering value through their experiences and we are constantly looking at new ways to innovate and how we try to invest in the dining experience. That’s why this year we’re investing even more into every moment you spend with us – offering extended time at the table to make each visit truly extraordinary.”
Murder on the Midnight Express is cooking from 27th January – 9th March and is priced at £50 for the six-course immersive tasting menu. Guests can enhance their experience with an optional £35 wine, or £45 cocktail pairing.
Hayley Trezise tells us about her new, permanent art installation set within the ancient beech tree woodland of Ipsden Estate where she also lives
This installation is a long-term project that’s very close to my heart,” Hayley tells us. “Every detail has been crafted to create a sacred space where visitors can connect with nature, themselves, and everything around them.
“It’s a healing space, offering people the opportunity to belong, reflect, confess and heal in a setting that encourages profound personal insights. The experience, even in the silence of sitting face-to-face with one of the sculptures, offers visitors a sense of peace and wisdom.”
Hayley is an intuitive multidisciplinary artist. She is also a fashion designer and shamanic practitioner. A true rule breaker and self-taught fashion rebel, her journey began with crafting clothes and rapidly evolved into the establishment of her own fashion brand. Today, she intertwines the diverse threads of her life into a colourful tapestry that encompasses these various realms. Rejecting artificial divisions, she firmly believes in the inherent connection between art and all aspects of existence, even wearable creations.
This installation is part of national project, Time to Connect, led by renowned photographer Alistair Morrison (Alistair Morrison).
At the core of Hayley’s process lies the exploration of liminal realms, a journey that comes to fruition through her mixed media creations. Infused with elements of healing, shamanic journeying, and intuitive expression, Hayley’s art serves to bridge dimensions.
Her artworks exude a sacred essence, stemming from their ritualistic origins. Every piece has an innate healing quality, extending an invitation to viewers to embark on their own journey — “a voyage into uncharted territories” and an embrace of boundless possibilities.
From fabric to machinery, paint and pencil to clay and concrete, Hayley creates intricate art forms, each with the potential for narrative interpretation. The stories encapsulated within these pieces remain open, as Hayley’s intention is to allow personal meanings to unfurl naturally, to awaken curiosity, raise an eyebrow in wonder, spark inquiries, and rekindle memories… As she says on her Instagram (@hayleytresizeart) “Let’s embrace every moment, notice every breath, cherish every interaction, and recognize every opportunity.”
You’re welcome to visit the installation in Ipsden Woods (what3words: resonates.awesome.trickles). For more info about Hayley & her work visit Hayley Trezise
Virginia Water mum Victoria Fearnley is obsessed with tidiness and organisation and can help you restore order to chaos with Surrey Decluttering
How often have you looked in that cupboard or opened a door to a room only to close it and walk away overwhelmed by the chaos inside?
You need to invite Victoria Fearnley round to ‘remove clutter, restore order and create a well-functioning home’. Through her business Surrey Decluttering she gets to ‘combine my passion for helping people with an obsession for tidiness and organisation.”
Since September 2020 Victoria has helped clients create better functioning homes in stress-free environments. Drawing on her scientific background and career in R&D she makes the most of her keen eye for detail and innovative and creative skills to come up with storage solutions and decluttering hacks.
She explains: “I provide decluttering, re-organising and tidying of any spaces and rooms within your home, including lofts, garages and sheds. I will also provide light cleaning to the areas of your home that I work on.”
She always brings her ‘decluttering kit’ which includes bin bags, labels, cardboard boxes, parcel tape etc and there’s no charge for any small items for her kit she uses.
Victoria also offers complementary services such as assembling new storage solutions (e.g. IKEA furniture), putting up shelves and re-painting a cleared-out room. Just tell her what you want doing and she’ll help if she can!
Originally from a small village in Sweden, she was by her own admission always a ‘tidy’ child, adding: “I would often re-arrange the content of my wardrobes and things on my shelves just for fun! Please don’t judge me – we didn’t have electronic devices or daytime TV back then!
“Having been brought up in Sweden, I love regular visits to IKEA, who doesn’t? I love making up their furniture and finding new storage solutions. It might be my Swedish heritage that made me a keen DIY-er, so typically I always have a new project on the go!”
Among Victoria’s top tips are: • Start small with a 30-minute declutter session, focus on one area at a time, a wardrobe or kitchen drawers • Seasonal sorting – what to store, what to keep as the seasons change, pack away clothing you know you won’t need and rotate with that which will be worn • Declutter high traffic areas of your home notably hallways and kitchens, try instead keeping a basket or box in those areas to gather together items which accumulate quickly
Find out more about how Victoria can help you have the tidy clutter-free home you’ve always wanted at surreydecluttering.co.uk
Round & About Magazine’s resident wine columnist Giles Luckett offers his picks for the best Valentine’s Day Wines as love (of wine) is in the air…
For The Love Of Wine
It’s February and love is in the ai, well in the glass, so this time out I’m recommending a flight of wines that will quicken the pulse, after all, they do say wine is good for the heart. Whether you’re cooking up a storm for the love of your life, popping that all-important question, or simply celebrating another year together, you’ll find the perfect partner below.
Many wine lovers will be looking for something pink and fizzy come Valentine’s Day, and if you’re after something classy and affordable, try the Casa Canevel Prosecco Rosé (Strictly Wine £18.50). Seriously good and seriously good fun, this offers masses of bright, pear and melon fruit that are shot through by strawberry and tangy raspberry flavours before cream and citrus come in at the finish. Delightful on its own, it’s got the fruit and intensity to partner with dishes such as seafood, pan-fried fish or baked cheese.
Next up, a wine with a message on the bottle: the quotation, ‘A good wine is a wine you want to taste again’. That’s certainly the case with the Marius Rosé (ND John £10.45) from Rhône legends, Chapoutier. What I love about this, is that everything about it feels natural and unforced. The colour is a gorgeous mid-pink with shades of amber, not the lurid pink of so many rosés these days. The bouquet is pretty and fragrant, balancing summer berries and red cherries with a lift of citrus, while the palate’s easy-going blend of bright red fruits, blackberries, lemon and cherry twists make ideal bedfellows. Serve this with pink fish or pink lamb and I’m sure you’ll be tickled pink.
English sparkling wine has captured the heart of many a critic and consumer over the last few years. The quality has become so impressive that champagne houses such as Taittinger now have wineries on this side of the Channel. As a long-time admirer of them, I was delighted to discover the Candover Brook Rosé (Candover Brook £38). Produced in Hampshire using Champagne grapes and Champagne methods including a minimum of three years of bottle ageing, this Wine GB Gold Medal winner is a stunner. Offering ample cranberry and dried strawberry fruits, citrus, minerals, and a touch of chalky bitterness it has a very classical feel to it, but there’s something in the joyously lively finish that marks it out as new and exciting. Tasted blind I’d have to put this down as a fine rosé champagne.
Speaking of champagne, rosé champagne sales spike in early February in part as it’s the most popular day to propose, followed by the Saturday before Christmas for reasons I cannot fathom, do fiancées get better gifts…? Anyway, if you’re thinking of popping the question or just want to show the love of your life how much you care, then I recommend popping the cork on a bottle of Taittinger Rosé (Tesco £48). This beautiful wine exudes Taittinger’s class and elegance. The bouquet is a complex mix of red and black fruits with yeast, citrus, and red blooms adding further diversion. On the palate it’s silky and refined, the tiny bubbles giving lift and zest but without the coarseness of some champagnes. Raspberries, loganberries, and a hint of blackberries lead the charge, followed by a long, lingering finish with chalky minerals and a touch of salinity. Serve this lightly chilled on its own (it’s better if you let it breathe for an hour or so) or with seafood, rare red meats or poultry.
Chardonnay is a grape that’s always been close to my heart and while the great wines of Burgundy have now become the preserve of tech billionaires – who else is drinking Domaine Leflaive Montrachet at £20,000 a bottle? – head-turning examples are still available to us mortals. Last week I had my second encounter with the Giant Adelaide Hills Chardonnay (£9.99 Waitrose) which reaffirmed my belief that this is a little cracker of a wine. I don’t like to recommend wines I’ve only tasted once. Like first dates, they can leave you giddy as you experience the first flush of romance only to disappoint when you next see them. This was better the second time around. Hailing from the cool of the Adelaide Hills, it has plenty of energy and delivers shedloads of white and green berries supported by lemons and grapefruit. Give it an hour open and peaches, honey and that burnt match reductive note that I so adore comes through too. This is an awful lot of wine for the money and pairs wonderfully well with poultry, meaty fish, and vegetarian dishes.
As the old saying goes, ‘The way to a man’s heart is through his Riesling’, OK, I may have got that wrong, but it’s certainly a way to my heart. Riesling is perhaps the greatest of all grapes, and in the hands of a master like Ernst Loosen, it’s a sure-fire winner. This year my much better half and I will be sharing a bottle of the Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett 2022 (£15.99 Waitrose) with our lobster (please take the hint, Mrs. L). With its combination of intense fruit – apples, peaches, grapes, watermelon – minerals, and zippy lemon and lime acidity, this is one of those wines that is just too easy to drink and before you know where you are you’ll be looking for a second bottle. While there is a little residual sugar, its tangy freshness and crispness give it a dry feel, and when partnered with shellfish or Asian cuisine, it’s sensational.
And so, to the reds and a wine that couldn’t be more appropriate for this time of romance, the Domaine de la Pirolette Saint-Amour 2022 (Vinatis £17.24). I’m a great fan of Beaujolais and this is one of the best I’ve had in a long time. A great Beaujolais should be full-bodied, ripe, and with a distinctive minerality to it and that’s what you get with this lovely Saint-Amour. Wonderfully deeply coloured, the nose is rich and exotic and brims with stewed black fruits, roasted meat, earth, chocolate, and a hit of sour cheery acidity. Mouth-filling and warming, there are shades of the Rhône – black cherries and pepper – and Burgundy – strawberries and raspberries – before savoury minerals hit the finish. I tasted this on its own and it was delicious, but with hearty dishes, it would be even better.
Spain is probably my favourite wine-producing country. My love for its wine is borne out of its singular combination of brilliance, diversity, and value. Early this year I discovered a new wine from an old friend that further fanned my Spanish passion. It’s the Juan Gil Monastrell Blue Label, (Premier Cru Fine Wine £27.39). The Blue Label is the big brother to the must-buy Juan Gill Yellow Label (Songbird Wines £12.75) and this mixture of Monastrell, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah is even more compelling. Inky red-black, the brooding bouquet takes time to open up before revealing blackcurrants and blueberries, green peppers and black peppercorns. Intense and energetic, this serious red is weighty yet precise, offering layer upon layer of black berries and plums backed by tones of mint, leather, charcoal and black olives. Let this breathe for a couple of hours and serve with liver, pecorino cheese pasta, or tomato-rich dishes.
I’ll stay in Spain for my last recommendation, the Azabache Coscojares Vinedo Singular Rioja 2018 (Findlays £38.99). This was love at first sight and first sip – how could you not love this dumpy little bottle? This is one of Rioja’s Viñedo Singular, a relatively recent classification for wines that come entirely from a classified vineyard, with vines that are at least 35 years old, are harvested by hand and which give much lower yields. Made exclusively from Garnacha at an altitude of 520m, this is Rioja refinement par excellence. Mid-red with a sumptuous nose of cherries, plums, toasty vanilla, and a touch of balsamic, the Christmas cake-rich palate is fantastically fruity, super smooth, and has savoury tobacco, sage, mint, and orange zest on the finish. What a wine!
Well, that’s enough love for now, next time I’m out I’ll be taking a deep dive into Tuscany with an interview and profile of the wonderful wines of San Felice.
Visit theatre open day to discover what goes on behind the scenes
If you’ve ever wondered what’s involved in putting on a theatrical production and how it’s staged, go along to Thame Players theatre on Saturday, 1st February.
You’ll be able to see how the theatre works from front of house to backstage and meet some of the (often highly skilled) volunteers who are behind every show put on at the Players Theatre. You’ll find out how you can get involved yourself, and receive some hands-on training, whether you’re interested in treading the boards, using your tech or DIY skills, helping with costumes and props, or greeting audiences at front of house.
You’ll be able to talk to members of the friendly team about:
Acting and Directing: If you want to have a go at performing, this is your chance to grab a mic and recite or sing on the stage! You’ll receive advice and coaching by Thame Players’ actors, and music and play texts will be provided.
Sound and Lighting: Members of the theatre’s tech team will show you round the impressive sound and lighting equipment, and you can have a go at pressing the buttons. This is a great opportunity if you’d like to see what’s involved and improve your skills!
Backstage: You can see for yourself what the backstage crew get up to, so that things happen on cue and shows run smoothly. Members of the backstage team will be pleased to show you what’s involved and how it all comes together.
Set Building: Whether you’re a master at using a screwdriver, you like woodwork or DIY, or you’re a dab hand with a paintbrush, these skills are vital in the theatre. You’ll be able to talk to members of the team and try a few effects yourself.
Costumes and Make-up: Sourcing, creating or adapting costumes is quite an art. Doing make-up is equally skilled. If you’re artistic, you like sewing, or you’re handy with a powder brush, try some of Thames Players’ costumes, experiment with make-up effects and watch hands-on demos!
Front of House: If you’re good at socialising with people and can pour drinks behind the bar, why not spend time with members of our front of house team? They are the friendly faces audiences meet when they arrive to see a show and gather in the foyer. To see how you could use your people skills, chat to members of the team.
Wayne Gibson, Open Day coordinator at Thames Players, said: “The theatre is made up of a community of people with different skills who make the magic happen. We’re looking forward to welcoming anyone and everyone from Thame and local area on Saturday 1st February, when there’ll be opportunities to find out what’s involved in putting on a show and how the theatre ticks. You’ll see what we do and how we do it, from acting and directing to set building, sound & lighting, and much more. So please come and see us at the Players Theatre on our Open Day – you’ll learn a lot and have a fun experience too!”
Visit the theatre in Nelson Street, Thame OX9 2DP and go to Thame Players for more.
Birtley House Nursing Home in Bramley is unique and unlike other care homes
At a time when new care homes are opening across the South-East on a weekly basis, Birtley House Nursing Home offers its residents a very different proposition. It takes years to build a true home, a bank of trusted staff and an excellent reputation, as we have done.
Established in 1932, and a fourth-generation family-fun business, the owners of Birtley House Nursing Home live on-site and our history and experience in care means we truly understand what it takes to create a genuinely homely environment whilst offering the highest standard of service not just in care but with quality of life for the resident at the heart of it.
We pride ourselves on creating the ultimate home-from-home stay that exudes a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. We encourage our residents to feel at home by bringing their own furniture and personal belongings, so they have familiar home comforts available to them. Birtley House Nursing Home prides itself on so specific visiting times, and with ample parking on site, family and friends can visit whenever they wish.
Birtley House Nursing Home provides specialist care services for both long and short-term stays including respite, and convalescent care, palliative care, or end-of-life support. Boasting a strong care team, Birtley House Nursing Home has on-site well-being staff such as physiotherapists, and an in-house chef creating delicious and nutritious food throughout the day, much of it sourced from our own large kitchen garden.
We offer potential residents a variety of accommodation options including nursing home rooms and our unique West Wing apartments, both of which have 24-hour nursing care on call. We also have an over-65’s retirement development of two-bedroomed supported-living flats, designed to provide a calm and worry-free life for those who are looking for more independence and flexibility, and who don’t require care just yet.
We always say that the best way to decide if Birtley House Nursing Home is right for you is with a visit. When you enter any care home, you will get an immediate feel as to whether the atmosphere and environment suit you, and what you are looking for. We are here every step of the way to guide you with impartial advice, and help you make an educated choice that is right for you.
For an insight into life at Birtley House Nursing Home, please take a moment to look at our social media accounts, and our website Birtleyhouse.co.uk or telephone to arrange a site visit 01483892055.
Dad, writer, marketer, podcaster and “accidental mentor” to local young people Saj Tameez tells us about his love for life in Bucks, especially in the winter!
Saj Tameez is proof that the internet can be a force for good, his funny reels on TikTok and Facebook often poking fun at his home town, High Wycombe.
“I adore Wycombe and the greenery around it!” says the 42-year-old dad of three. “I know I make a lot of jokes online about the blunders our local councils and other organisations make, but it all comes from a place of love!
“I’ve spent my life in High Wycombe, and I’m still here! I’ve had the odd fantasy about escaping to some exotic beachside paradise, but honestly, the idea of moving even a few miles out of the Wycombe bubble makes me break into a cold sweat. I’m part of an unquantifiable number of Facebook groups, and somehow. I’ve become an accidental mentor for some of the youth in the community. In another life, I was the go-to for helping young people prepare for their exams, craft CVs, and practise for interviews. I also lend a hand with business ideas, guiding them through business plans and marketing strategies.”
Saj also runs two businesses, Bright Choice Marketing and Design Climb, offering content creation, branding, and web/app design and development. He’s also a business and marketing consultant and a published author. “Right now, I’m working on the third book in my DS Nick Bailey and DC Zoe Hall crime thriller series. The first two books are Perfect Little Lies and For Better, For Worse – Till Death Do Us Part. The third book, Gone in the Night, should be available for pre-order soon.
“I’m also working on a podcast called A Life Worth Living, where we focus on helping young people make smarter decisions to navigate the complexities and challenges life throws their way. I’ll be interviewing local reformed individuals who can share insights on avoiding a life of crime, along with professionals offering valuable perspective across various industries. I feel I’ve gained so much from High Wycombe, and now I want to give back by reinvesting what I’ve learned to help the next generation.
“Walking is one of my favourite activities – you’ll find me wandering everywhere, from Princes Risborough to the stunning Chilterns, happily trekking through any woods I can find. I love the thrill of getting lost and then playing the game of ‘how do I get back?’ I absolutely love the winter season! Yes, strangely enough, I find joy in dark grey skies, rain, thunder, and lightning. I know… please don’t judge me; just pray for me instead!”
Liz Nicholls chats to interior designer, dad & grandad Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, 59, who has helped design Rangeford Villages’ new luxury retirement villages, with his daughter Hermione
Watch the full interview here:
Q. Hello Laurence! How do you like to be addressed?! “Whoa, gosh that’s such a question. ‘Laurence’ is very cool, I’ve always liked being a Laurence… I was nearly a Lancelot; that was a good swerve to be honest. My father, who hankered thoughts that I’d play rugby for Wales, wanted me to be a Gareth.”
Q. Do people constantly misspell your name? “Yes, but I’m very relaxed about it. Y’know, ‘Laurence’ is nothing like as complicated as ‘Llewelyn’ so thank the Lord for small mercies! I regret the fact that Dr Johnson brought in spelling. It would all be much better if we just made it all up.”
Q. Can you tell us how you came to lend your peacock flourishes to Rangeford’s new retirement villages in Surrey & the Cotswolds? “It’s a very organic relationship, happenstance! Rangeford were building in Siddington, on the edge of my village. I work with Hermione and, as an almost 60-year-old myself, I feel the way forward for my generation is to entice people into a relationship with retirement living that’s based much more closely on boutique hotels rather than caravan parks. Just because you’re a specific number, just because you’ve had a specific amount of birthdays, and you have quite so many rings that you can see when you’re cut in half like a tree, that doesn’t mean that the design volume knob should be turned down. Older people are not frightened by design.
This is such an extraordinary odd and Western European attitude! Anywhere else in the world, being senior is seen as a ‘flowering’, as a moment of great accomplishment, a moment when everything you’ve created throughout your life can be celebrated. You celebrate that through colour and commitment, excitement, opulence! Unbeknown to us, that’s absolutely where Rangeford see themselves, too. I found it incredibly refreshing to find a company that understood this. My generation of Boomers who saw the Sex Pistols live don’t want to be shuffled into some ghastly oatmeal trailer park. Actually what we want is somewhere that keeps us active, diverted and alive! So many studies show that the more social contact we have the older we get, the longer we live. So as far as I was concerned it was the creation of a design landscape that drew all its inspiration from contemporary hospitality. I also wanted to reflect a lot of the things I love, especially since this first one was Cotswold-based, and to have a bit of an Arts & Crafts hat on. At the moment people are very interested in this. They see a Brit design legacy that’s not only worth celebrating but ridiculously rare.
We don’t have many things we can put our ‘Britain is Cool’ hat on for, other than William Morris and [Thomas] Chippendale. What William Morris and the Arts & Crafts movement did was incredibly influential throughout the world. It all comes from [Morris’s] love of nature. I think that’s one of the main inspirations from the Rangeford projects: they’re all about the exuberance of nature at its most engorged, its healthiest, its most vibrant, when you get as much chlorophyll as you possibly can. I wanted to create an environment that’s… chlorophyllaceous, if that’s a word! The interesting thing behind all of this, and what’s a big moment for me as an elderly ‘designosaur’ (and also for my business) is the point when Hermione is taking over as that arbiter, that figurehead.
This – we found out recently – is what happened with Williams and May Morris. When May Morris took over the business at the beginning of the 20th century suddenly it became a different and very successful proposition. What Hermione’s been enjoying with the installation in Surrey is that people come over and go “oooh gosh!”. There is that slight assumption that a Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen interior is going to be too tricky to live with, too many notes, too much colour, too stimulating! But this is good in the context of Rangeford. To everyone who’s said ‘ooh I actually love this’ she can say ‘yes that’s because it’s Hermione Llewelyn-Bowen, not Laurence! Hermione believes in a more holistic way. She feels that what she’s doing with my pattern legacy is to create spaces that have energy and vibrancy but aren’t necessarily full of… ‘poisonous looking weedy things’ as she calls them.”
Q. I’ve read that you live with your children & grandchildren, which sounds idyllic! Can you tell us about this multigenerational living arrangement? “In many ways it’s mirroring what I’m doing with Rangeford. They have this brilliant concept which is to encourage their buyers to see what they’re doing not as ‘downsizing’ but ‘rightsizing’. They want their buyers to think about creating a way of living that’s right for the physical resources they have. And, much more importantly, that hardwires the physical resources they’ll have in ten years or 20 years. What’s important for my generation is that you cannot be in denial about growing older. You cannot keep wearing the sportswear you were wearing when you were 20. You can’t keep the Oasis mullet that you sported when you were 20. You have to go with the flow slightly. Noël Coward had the most brilliant expression: he said you have to invite old age in and give it a cocktail. In other words you make it a very gentle transition rather than a point of crisis, a moment when your life is turned upside down.
And that’s very much what we are doing at home in terms of the way Jackie and I live; we’re occupying a fraction of what was a very large space for us on our own, but we’re tailoring it to suit everything that we enjoy. The other side of the house is lived in by Hermione and her husband and their two children and then Cecily and her husband and their two children live in a garage block on the other side of the courtyard. So we are the rock and roll Waltons! We do have that moment of ‘good night john boy’ and all of that stuff. Our grandchildren are an incredibly important part of our daily lives. Our children are intertwined with everything that we do – we work together and Cecily’s husband Dan is our commercial director, and I’m about to do a big publishing project with Cecile. We are literally living above the shop. That feels like it’s such a strange and anachronistic thing in this day and age but I actually think it’s a natural state of grace. This is exactly how families operated in the world, before the 20th century’s obsession with urbanity forced everyone to abandon the nest and leave it to the old crows, only returning occasionally. We are there supporting each other and it means Cecile and Hermione can spread their wings and be who they want to be. They’ve got the incredible safety net and support of Jackie who’s very much there for the children and for them. Meanwhile, of course for us, a stated scientific fact, people live longer and happier when they have as much access to younger people as possible, rather than being confined to somewhere that’s all about you and your generation. My grandchildren are growing up in an incredibly lively, vigorous space when they have cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, all very much a part of the daily tribe.”
Q. I did laugh when I saw your post on Instagram, saying you and Jackie were in Venice, spending the kids’ inheritance! Are you a romantic couple? And will you be celebrating Valentine’s Day this month? “We are incredibly romantic. And no, Valentines Day isn’t a big deal. I always feel that if you wait a year to do something romantic and thoughtful you’ve got something wrong there. We’re so lucky, we met each other at 19. So many people we know, in their sixties, they’ve only just met ‘the one’, but they haven’t got much of their life to spend together. We’ve done everything together: we’ve grown up together, we’ve built businesses together, we’ve taken risks, not doing programmes, doing other programmes, putting out product ranges, relaunching wallpaper in 1999, in the absolute teeth of the wallpaper depression when no one was buying wallpaper… I’ve always felt empowered, stabilised to do these things because I had my life, my real life, my home life. I was going home to an incredibly safe and secure environment so I felt safe. It encouraged me to be more ‘me’. This is something my daughters have said: they are now making some exciting decisions about who they are, what they a re and what they do. They’ve got this stable, rock-like foundation to be whoever they want to be. A lot of their friends, people their age, they’re querulous and very uncommitted to trying new things, because they’re still looking for that great relationship. Get on with that! Find the right one who allows you to be who you are!”
Q. You won our hearts on television. Do you watch much telly? “It makes me laugh with my sons-in-law because they have these enormous televisions, as their generation is wont, which we’re always trying to find concealments for when we’re doing interiors. And yet all these enormous televisions play is Peppa Pig and Bluey: they’re not there to watch international sport or nature documentaries at all. They’re being wasted on computer-generated animation. I rather like Bluey. I find it hard not to watch Bluey without having a little tear. I’m often being crawled on by grandchildren and we all find it very emotional – it’s a powerful watch! Of course, at the moment, we’re all over Jilly Cooper’s Rivals which is about where we live.”
Q. Yes! Rutshire, haha! Do you know Jilly? “Yes! I was sitting next to her a couple of nights ago, trying to convince her that she was almost certainly related to Daisy May Cooper, which would be two polar opposites here in the Cotswolds. Jilly and I have always got on very very well. I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never read any of her books. Rivals is not only set where we live and reeks horribly true on many social levels but it’s also giving me the most phenomenal PTSD from the 1980s. That was very much an era when Jackie and I were at these parties and doing that naughty thing, and it’s brought it all back, rather…”
Q. Speaking of the 1980s, I wonder whether you think there is such a thing as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ taste? “Basically, there is no such thing as good or bad taste. This is peculiarly British obsession, one that was created – if you want to be very boring about it – by the Earl of Burlington in 1720. That aside, it’s a class obsession because there was a general indoctrination that supposed that the ‘posher’ you were, the better your taste was, which is absolute rubbish! Particularly if you live in the Cotswolds; the poshest people have the most terrible taste most of time. Taste should always be subjective, in fact taste is a word I’ve never used. Taste suggests, etymologically, that it’s decided by committee. Style is a much more interesting word: it comes from the Latin ‘stylus’ which means pen. It implies that style is something you write, you change to suit yourself, and I think finding your own style is a much more important obsession than trying to achieve good taste. Half the time, particularly in Britain there’s an obsession with taste and avoiding bad taste so that you end up with no taste at all, and that’s absolutely what happened in the ’90s!”
Q. What’s the favourite interior you’ve ever visited, Laurence? “Oh, big question. I mean, I’ve just come back from Venice, as you say, which has a lot to see. I get very excited by interiors that tell stories, unlike the mass-produced ones with delusions of blandeur! When you see the same kind of colour scheme and the same kind of irritating inability to engage, they’re very unstimulating spaces. Inevitably historical rooms tell you a lot. Venice is a very interesting place because style was always unhindered. You never had to worry about being attacked Barbarians or Goths here because you were in an island in the middle of a lagoon. So you were allowed to show off as much as you bloody well wanted! There was no upper limit to showing off. Meanwhile, you were fantastically wealthy, you had access to incredible craftsmen, incredible artists, incredible materials. So a Venetian room is an act of a self-aggrandisement. And I find it very difficult not to fall in love with that kind of expressive aesthetic.”
Q. If you had a magic wand, what would you wish for? “For everyone to have a magic wand.”
Q. Do you have a favourite piece of music? “I like a lot of contemporary film music and gaming music, weirdly, including classical and opera. I continue to be very fond of artists like Goldfrapp. I tend not to like too much pop but my playlist is bonkers and eccentric; it’s like a dressing up box of extraordinary stuff from here there and everywhere.”
Q. Final question! You dress beautifully, including today. Are you always dapper or do you sometimes just chuck a pair of joggers on!? “No. I will put on pyjamas and a dressing gown which I think is very appropriate. But the current obsession with ‘comfort’, I don’t really understand. Wear clothes that suit you, fit you, and you can keep them on. The idea that you’re just going home to watch Gogglebox is appalling… that was the taste police talking, wasn’t it!”
