BRISTOL Old Vic Theatre School’s production of London Road is quite extraordinary. The story, both shocking and true, deals with the murder of five prostitutes in Ipswich in 2006, or, to be more precise, the effect these murders had on the residents of the street where they took place; it focuses very much on the…
IN Deadwood, where almost every shop offers gambling and Wild Bill Hickock is shot five times a day on Main Street, Mary Tautkus started her Chubby Chipmunk Chocolate shop ten years ago. She trained with the best in Belgium, and now makes truffles and various caramel delights, often with a gold flavour to match the…
IFORD Opera’s production of Puccini’s La Rondine marked my first ever visit to Iford. I hope I can be forgiven for thinking I had arrived in paradise; a picnic, a perfect English summer’s evening and the exquisite gardens of Iford Manor. All this and Puccini too – absolute bliss! La Rondine is one of Puccini’s…
NATIONAL Theatre Production: three words which for me ensure quality, high production values, top-class casting, attention to detail at every level, and a great programme, with plenty of quality background material. One Man, Two Guvnors lived up to these standards in every way possible. Most of what I had heard about the play was James…
THEY’RE back, they’re performing very nearby, and they’re just as good as they were last time, possibly even better! Living Spit theatre company have been given a tiny budget by Theatre Orchard and Artsreach to take free live theatre to villages in Somerset and Dorset, and following their hugely successful Six Wives of Henry VIII…
MANY towns no longer have an independent green-grocer (Shaftesbury, Bridport, Wimborne and Glastonbury are among the lucky ones) but if you have a Somerset or Dorset farmers market locally you will be able to get some of the freshest, most delicious and locally grown vegetables around. A couple of years ago Somerset Farmers Market organisers…
TRAVELLING chef Philippa Davis from Shaftesbury visits some of the most beautiful places in the world, cooking for clients in locations from the south of France to the north of Scotland. She was back in Scotland again in May, cooking for a dinner party for 18 people outside Edinburgh. After several trips to Scotland’s capital,…
FOOD writer Christine McFadden, who runs classes at her home in the beautiful village of Little Bredy, visited Morocco in January, particularly to learn more about the country’s food and its unique and magical argan oil. She shares some of her experiences and discoveries at her Spicy Journeys class, Taste of Morocco, on Friday 13th…
PURBECK Ice Cream has scooped not one, but two more awards winning the most innovative watercress product as well as overall winner of the Watercress Food Awards 2014 at this year’s Watercress Festival! The annual festival at Alresford is attended by people who are looking for quality and innovation in food – and in particular,…
LEARN, Cook, Eat, Stay – that is the invitation from Dorset chef Lisa Osman as she embarks on a new adventure, All Hallows School for Cooks and Makers at Wimborne St Giles. Lisa is an accomplished chef, caterer, teacher, trainer and food judge, well-known and respected in Dorset for her dedication to local food and…