The Seed of an Idea

Issue 29 The best thing to come out of Surbiton since the A3 Summer 2016 Aria kidding me? A piece An operatic backing track accompanies June’s of cake farmers’ market in Maple Charlotte looks Road as the singers from pleased with Opera d’Amici perform on her work; a cake the balcony of the French decorated with a Table. Hannah Kirk and burrowing bunny. her colleagues from the That’s its white company founded in 2001 powder-puff tail will sing at 11.15am. disappearing underground. She made it guided by She sure looks Purdy Sue Smith of the Spooky or what? Lee Johnston romped to Surbiton branch of victory in the Dog That Looks Most Like the British Sugarcraft Its Owner category at the community Guild, which gave sports day’s dog show which helped round sugar design novices off this year’s Surbiton Food Festival. lessons and tips The Berrylands blonde’s flowing locks at the Museum of perfectly matched the colour of cocker Futures, Brighton spaniel Purdy’s floppy ears to gain the Road, as part of rosette in an event judged by staff at the the recent Surbiton Surbiton Veterinary Hospital. Purdy’s the Food Festival. Adults one licking her nose, by the way. were taught to create Two consecutive weekends of hot rose sprays out of weather ensured this year’s festival was a sugar while children triumph, with more food-related events were shown how to than ever before. decorate cup cakes The village fete was a high point, with with characters from crowds thronging St Andrew’s Square as Minions or the Mad the mercury soared. Hatter’s tea party. Several events took place at the l More about the Museum of Futures, recently unveiled as a workshop on p8 community resource. l More about it on p4 Landmark gains new rooftop flat The seed Surbiton holds its breath to see how one of its oldest landmarks will look once the scaffolding is down. Queensborough House, where Claremont Road curves into St Mark’s Hill, is getting a new storey after nearly two centuries. Topped by a circular parapet, the Georgian of an idea structure, sheeted in blue, is gaining a rooftop flat. ou will never be short of planting suggestions Of ‘townscape merit’, the building dates from the again, thanks to an idea dreamt up in a Surbiton late 1820s. It was put up on land owned by Thomas garden. Two months ago, Daniel Richards threw in Pooley, an early developer. Builders are hard at work Y his job as group digital director for Virgin, running virgin. as a planning application chugs through council. com and managing Richard Branson’s social media, to A grey slate mansard roof will house a two-bed, launch a phone app, helped by a techie pal in Jersey. two-bath flat leading out to a roof terrace. The In just eight weeks, GardenTags has become a social parapet forms a protective wall for the terrace. As the media phenomenon with 50,000 subscribers. “It was old photo shows, it used to be an open balustrade. quite scary,” he said over the rat-tat-tat of a woodpecker The application states there will be ‘no adverse 1924 as we had a cuppa in his St Andrew’s Square garden. impact on the character of the conservation area’. In effect, GardenTags is Facebook for garden lovers. It is Queensborough House’s whimsical architectural doughnut on top of the graceful corner curve It lets users compare plants, identify mystery blooms, which adds so much character to the original. share tips and pool a love of outdoor cultivation. There’s no lift, so the resident of the new flat on the Like all good ideas, the notion of a social network third floor will need strong thighs. for gardeners is disarmingly simple. “I’m a novice Surbiton town centre conservation area covers 311 gardener,” confessed Daniel, pictured. l Continued p6 properties and forms the main part of Surbiton ‘new town’, which emerged following the relocation of the railway station to its current site in 1838. The villas which once dotted Victoria Road and Brighton Road had been converted to commercial use by 1870, forming today’s shopping heartland. Queensborough House was, in Victorian times, a dentist’s and chemist shop. The enlargement, says the developer, ‘reflects the hierarchy of the Georgian architectural vocabulary’ and ‘would not detract from the building of townscape merit or the character or appearance of the conservation area’. It goes further. ‘The proposed mansard roof would help to complete the existing 2016 building and enhance its character.’ Time will tell. Tim Harrison news Recipes for a Good Life: Annie Morris Design trends with Elena Romanova Lemons? Preserve us! Avoid making colourful mistakes ake unwaxed lemons and limes, olour is the first thing you’re aware of Maldon sea salt flakes, a tablespoon of Cin a room. It takes precedence over Tcrushed coriander seeds, bay leaves and period, design, arrangement and quality. black peppercorns (to look pretty if it’s a It is, potentially, one of the most rewarding gift). Clean your kilner jar and use a new ingredients, and can be the least expensive. seal. Wash the fruit and cut into quarters, However, it can also be the most complicated not quite to the root. and, if insensitively handled, can destroy a In a bowl, mix the sea salt and coriander room. Here are some common mistakes. seeds. Open the lemons and push the sea l Painting a small colour swatch. Do not paint salt mix into each. Pack into jar and tuck 100 tiny swatches straight on the wall. Paint in a few bay leaves. a big piece of paper or foam core and move it how, by contrast, other rooms look lighter. Liquid forms after a few days as the salt round the room at different times of day to get l Choosing a colour because it is trendy. draws out the fruit’s moisture. They will a real sense of how a colour will look. Keep an eye on trends, but putting them take three months to mature. Remove a l Choosing too bright a colour. People are above personal taste is a recipe for disaster. lemon, scrape off the inside, and chop rind drawn to the cheery colours in magazines The fact that a colour is fashionable won’t into small pieces. It will be very fragrant. (we’ve all been there). However, these often make you happier if it isn’t your cup of tea. l Use in tagines, couscous, plain rice, overwhelm the room, especially tiny spaces. Analyse colours you are drawn to (your and for flavouring white fish. If roasting a Without an airy, well-lit environment, brighter wardrobe is a starting point) and see how you chicken, put under the bird’s skin. colours in a smaller space are overly intense. could incorporate them into your home. l Using white to lighten a room. White can l Playing it safe. Neutral tones look great look amazing in well-lit rooms, but makes a but can make your home bland. Be brave and small, dark room into a small, dark, dull room. embrace the colour. If you are not ready for all ASamba new chef is introducing chef You won’t make it brighter, so don’t fight it. Go four walls consider using colour as an accent. his dynamic cooking style to for a colour with some hue or mid-tone. Make Think tiles, accessories, scatter cushions etc. Hotel Bosco and lounge. Davi it inviting or dramatic. Make a small entrance For more ideas, call 07990 560264 or visit Queiroz, who honed his craft hall a cosy, dark colour and you will notice a workshop. www.elenainteriors.co.uk cooking street food at the Rio carnival, arrived from Denbies vineyard in Dorking. “I had to eat a lot of caviar,” said Davi, Wild boar vindaloo tops new menu explaining how he researched Could a fresh style of authentic options for the St Mark’s Hill Indian cooking challenge Surbiton’s restaurant’s diners. “We now addiction to chicken tikka masala? have Avruga caviar and Severn Ralph Sousa says it can, and is & Wye smoked salmon on the testing the theory by opening Saffron menu. I’ve also sourced the Summer at the Ace of Spades. most succulent South American He’s an intriguing character; dad steaks.” Being Brazilian, he’s Portuguese, mother Goan. Indeed a football fanatic, and will be his father was the last Portuguese glued to the Rio Olympics. mayor of southern Goa before it was subsumed into India. Forget run-of-the- mill dansaks, Head chef Awanish sleepy Roy is Oberoi-trained passandas, weary bhunas and Daruchini is now a bold, self-confident place, samey jalfrezis. professionally staffed and determined to be Chef Awanish Roy, different by offering ‘Indian haute cuisine’. a spice guru with “There are five or six restaurants in Cinnamon Club and Surbiton fighting for the same pie,” said Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel Ralph. “But we serve authentic, original on his CV, specialises Indian cuisine, with a modern twist.” in wild boar vindaloo, The restaurateur lives in Esher, and admits guinea fowl banjara and he looked there first when casting around tandoori venison. for suitable premises. But he settled on Located next to the the Ace of Spades, hoping to tap into the Chef Shree Acharya worked late-night chemist in Ace potential passing trade of one of the area’s at Gunpowder in Spitalfields Parade, what used to be busiest intersections.

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