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SPRING 2020 ART & CULTURE FOOD TRAVEL News and views from Pimlico Celebrate Cecil Beaton’s Bright How to make the most of Jersey Our writer heads to Japan’s and beyond, featuring the best Young Things and meet Jermyn Royals, including a recipe for mountainous Hokkaido to test openings and upcoming events Street’s artisans potato and tarragon salad a handmade snowboard

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Welcome

Craftsmanship has the ability to transform our experience of life. It can Perfectly Located turn household essentials into works of art, elevate a homely ingredient to a Apartments in Michelin-worthy meal and metamorphose us, Cinderella style, into the most modish versions of ourselves. In Pimlico we’re lucky to have some of London’s Central London top artisans on our doorstep, which is why we’ve chosen creativity and craftsmanship as the theme for our spring issue. Meet family-run shirt makers on Jermyn Street and a carpenter who creates snowboards by hand. Learn new STUDIO, ONE, TWO, THREE BEDROOM APARTMENTS skills at London’s best craft courses and stimulate your imagination with Cecil Located in Pimlico, Central London, Beaton’s portraits of the Bright Young Things. Note: this issue was produced Zone 1, Dolphin Square is an all rental before the lockdown and therefore some of the stories are no longer accurate. development with 24/7 security and We hope it provides a little escapism and a comforting reminder that, although on-site management team. Rental we may be physically distanced, this community remains as vibrant as ever. apartments available, furnished or unfurnished, to suit all budgets. From £300+ per week.

Call: 020 7798 8591

Neil Miller-Chalk Editorial Director

Contributors:

Imogen Lepere Andrew Eames Fleur Rollet-Manus Nick Savage Editor Contributor Contributor Contributor After four years as senior Andrew Eames is a writer Two years of backpacking London-based author and writer at Food and Travel, and journalist based in was enough for Fleur Rollet- journalist Nick Savage was Imogen Lepere is making London. With one parent Manus to realise that she raised on an island off Maine, the most of freelance life from the Hebrides and the preferred luxury linen and a childhood that instilled a by travelling everywhere other from the Channel Michelin starred grub. Now lifelong obsession with writing from Melbourne to Islands, he was born with you’ll find her reviewing and the outdoors. In this issue Mongolia. This issue, she his suitcase packed. In this the latest design-driven he travels from a ski-maker’s explores parallels between issue, he heads to Jermyn bolthole in far-flung corners workshop on Caledonian youth movements in Street (p.8) to meet the of the world for SUITCASE Road to the snowy peaks London today and in 1920 traditional artisans and Magazine. This issue she gets of northern Japan in search (p.14) and praises Jersey craftspeople who call hands on at some of London’s of the perfect powder Royal potatos (p.20). Mayfair home. best craft courses (p.26). experience (p.34). Dolphin Square Chichester Street, London SW1V 3LX 2 [email protected] Design & Art Direction: Hutton Farquhar www.huttonfarquhar.com 3 THE SQUARE - ISSUE 9 SPRING THE SQUARE - ISSUE 9 SPRING

Contents

Inside this issue: 26 HONING YOUR CRAFT From taxidermy to tailoring and even precious ring carving, Fleur Rollet-Manus rounds up London’s most creative craft courses. 14 BURNING BRIGHT We delve into the technicoloured world of the Bright Young Things with a photo essay of Cecil Beaton’s portraits. 40

HOW TO SPEND T H E P E R F E C T 8 DAY IN BRIXTON Discover colourful, charismatic Brixton, THE GENTEEL 34 where the food scene is JERMYN electric and Caribbean Without craftsmanship, Join Andrew Eames SWAGGER ON culture oozes from for a sophisticated THE SLOPES every corner. stroll down Jermyn inspiration is a mere reed Street, meeting the Make tracks to the craftspeople and 20 Hokkaido region of shaken in the wind. artisans that make Japan, where Nick Mayfair unique. Savage tests a bespoke BURIED snowboard that’s made TREASURE by hand in London. by Johannes Brahms Spring is in the air, which means new potatoes are back on shelves. Chef Tom Booton shares his spud secrets. Photo by: Ritesh Sing / Unsplash

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LOCAL NEWS, OUT & ABOUT LOCAL NEWS, OUT & ABOUT PIMLICO PIMLICO

Ultimate Easter FLAVOUR OF Although it’s always tempting to leave London over THE MONTH a long weekend, Pimlico actually comes into its own during Easter. St Gabriel’s and St. Saviour’s are both Gather your pals, roll up your filled with flowers and have several services to choose sleeves and prepare to linger – from; there is a giant egg hunt in Battersea Park this season is all about casual Children’s Zoo and Gail’s does a killer hot cross bun. dining, with a spate of relaxed new openings that are low on fuss and big on flavour. First up is Bancone, the buzzy, all-day fresh pasta restaurant that has opened its second site on Lower James Street in the heart of Soho. The menu features traditional dishes from most of Italy’s 20 regions and all are delicious, but our pick has to be THREE CHEERS FOR PUBS handkerchiefs with walnut butter and confit egg yolk. These silken The number of pubs in the UK has risen for the first time folds glisten with gooey goodness, in over a decade according to the Office for National a beautiful foil to a glass of crisp, morning, so quality is guaranteed alongside unusual wines from Statistics (ONS). In 2019, 315 new boozers burst onto zesty Italian white. in every cup. Turkey, Georgia and Armenia. the scene with food sales helping to drive the growth. What better way to toast the health of the pub industry On to Ecclestone Yards in Over in Fitzrovia, Selin Kiazim For juicy British meat and punchy than with a pint in one of your locals? The Queen’s Belgravia, where Morena has opened Oklava Bakery and French cheeses in a bun, look no Arms is a solid Victorian boozer with a heated terrace, celebrates sisterhood as well Wine on the site of what used further than Big Fernand. One of the Marquis of Westminster regularly hosts live bands as fragrant Colombian coffee. to be Kyseri. Nibble on Turkish- Paris’ favourite burger restaurants and The Orange is a tasteful gastro pub that’s full Juliana and Valentina Beleno roast inspired flavours such as medjool has arrived in South Kensington of beautiful people sipping Aperol spritz come the single-origin beans on site every date butter and muhammara, and it’s a must for meat lovers. weekend. They also serve boozy brunches. Chin-chin. bancone.co.uk oklava.co.uk bigfernand.com marquisofwestminster.co.uk | theorange.co.uk

FACTORY-MADE Spring diary dates Cambridge row four miles from chance to perform the Coronation A shy gay man who became the Putney to Mortlake. Try watching it Anthems with Laurence Cummings. hub of New York’s social scene from The Rutland Arms, which has 5 Mar-10 Apr. Various prices. and who embraced celebrity and excellent views of the middle of the consumerism in a way that no course from its waterfront terrace london-handel-festival.com other artist had before him, Warhol and opens from 10AM so you redefined the landscape of modern Chelsea Flower Show can bag the best spot. Line your art. In April a new exhibition at the stomach with a bacon sandwich or The shop fronts around Chelsea Tate Modern, the first major Warhol two. 29 March. Free. donning their floral best and retrospective there for 20 years, will marquees popping up on the gather together pop images such as theboatrace.org lawns of the Royal Hospital can those of Marilyn Monroe, portraits only herald one thing: the return from his Ladies and Gentlemen The London Handel Festival of the UK’s most prestigious flower series as well as several works never An annual celebration of the work show. This year’s show gardens before exhibited in the UK. A Warhol- of George Frideric Handel, the will be designed to a theme of inspired menu featuring dishes such festival programme ranges from environment and sustainability and The Boat Race as 'Tuna Fish Disaster' and 'Pâté for intimate concerts to the Handel the results should be spectacular. the Cat' will be served at the gallery’s One of the world’s most infamous singing competition. You can give £40. 19-23 May. restaurant. 12 Mar - 6 Sep. £22. inter-varsity rivalries comes to a your own voice box a little exercise head every spring in the boat race, at the Come and Sing event, which rhs.org.uk tate.org.uk which sees the pride of Oxford and will offer members of the public the

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In the heart of St James’s, tucked away discreetly behind those purveyors of posh groceries, messrs Fortnum & Mason, is one of London’s most distinctive retail streets, and one that has long been a magnet for the kind of people who are otherwise fairly allergic to shopping.

You’ve only got to walk its modest length, down a corridor echoing with double-barrelled names such as Crockett & Jones, Hilditch & Key and Turnbull & Asser, to appreciate that what’s going on here is far removed from the stuff of typical high streets. Its focused retail inventory - shirts, shoes, leather goods, shaving equipment, fragrances, wine, silk scarves, top hats, cigars and even guns – adds up to one thing: this is a man’s world.

In fact, Jermyn Street has everything a gentleman could possibly need, particularly if that gentleman is a traditionalist. In this case, that means a gent of ample means who likes his shoes to be bespoke and his shirts to be tailormade, preferably in Britain, The genteel and preferably also worn by either James Bond JERMYN or Prince Charles (and preferably both). T.S. Eliot declared St James’s ‘the smartest of names’ in 1939. Andrew Eames discovers many faces have barely changed in the intervening century on a sedate stroll along Jermyn Street.

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One of the oldest shops on the street is Floris, the perfumier where Winston Churchill used to buy his aftershave, still in business here after 290 years, still with a long list of regular clients, and still owned by the descendants of Juan Floris, originally a barber from Menorca. Today Floris, with its Spanish The street itself, like mahogany cabinets from the 1851 Great Exhibition, is the only perfumier to the Queen. And whilst they its double-barrelled are no longer made in London, its classics such as Number 89 aftershave (the shop’s address), much residents, has a long and liked by Ian Fleming, are nevertheless still made in England – in the small and buccolic town of distinguished pedigree. Tiverton, in deepest Devon. Although some of Jermyn Street’s more general clothiers and outfitters have bowed to fashion, and now source some of their stock from Italy or France, ‘made in Britain’ remains a theme of the street’s hard core of traditional shirt- and shoe-makers.

For example, still very much making its own Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans and former brogues, loafers and Oxfords in the UK are Crockett Ambassador to Paris and The Hague, started & Jones, with the current Mr Jonathan Jones (fifth to develop St James’s Square and its immediate generation of the family) heavily involved in the surroundings back in 1661. In those days, Jermyn design side of the business, keeping some 200 Street was more residential than commercial, a craftsmen shoemakers busy up in the factory in busy mix of houses, lodgings, hotels, taverns and Northampton. The Jermyn Street shop’s best sellers schools, which was dominated (as it thankfully still is) are the Snowdon boot and the Coniston boot, for by the beautiful Church of St. James’s, designed by the more rugged individual who likes to be well- architect Sir Christopher Wren. shod in the countryside - and naturally that includes the Prince of Wales. Over succeeding decades the street began to change; houses were converted into shops and some facades modernised, but even today it still has a sense of its long past, with some of its names dating back a couple of hundred years.

Many of the shop interiors themselves speak of another era. Wooden-floored, velvet-draped, with glass-fronted cabinets, they are not unlike the interiors of St James’s nearby gentleman’s clubs, complete with leather armchairs and sofas for the resting of weary wallets. This is laid back retailing, polished and unpressurised, where the ambience matches the target customer, and with nothing as vulgar as a price on display; that’s for a polite enquiry once the deal is (almost) done. Meanwhile most of the sales assistants – that title seems inadequate – are themselves waistcoat-wearing gents.

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On the shirt front, amongst the street’s more revered names is Turnbull & Asser, also family owned and with a royal warrant, and also still very much British made. Their main manufacturing is in Gloucester, but for their bespoke business individual shirt patterns are actually still made on Jermyn Street, as they have been for many a famous customer over the years; Ronald Reagan, Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill’s patterns are all proudly displayed on the wall. Churchill’s is particularly notable for his neck size – a stonking 19 ¾ inches, where most men average 16.

In amongst all these long-established male-dominated establishments, one relative newcomer stands out by virtue of being the only business on the street run by a woman.

When Emma Willis first set up shop here 20 years ago, in her re-creation of an elegant drawing room, she was chided by a male customer that ‘women don’t make shirts’. She’s come a long way since those days, employing 30 staff in a factory in Gloucester, where all her cutters too are female. Her client list includes Prince Charles – and a lot of injured veterans through her charity Style for Soldiers, which fits them out for life beyond the services.

But locating her only outlet on Jermyn Street wasn’t always plain sailing. “I nearly left after four years,” says Emma. “Back then, it wasn’t a very hot retail area, with lots of vacant premises and all the banks moving to Docklands.” But the vacated office space was then taken up by a financial growth industry, hedge funds, whose movers and shakers are cash rich and time poor, and who favour a classic look. In short, perfect new customers for the old money shops of Jermyn Street. THIS IS ME TIME DSQ GYM MEMBERSHIPS INCLUDE A 12 MONTH, 6 MONTH AND A ROLLING CONTRACT.

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Dolphin Square Chichester Street, London SW1V 3LX [email protected] 12 13 THE SQUARE - ISSUE 9 SPRING THE SQUARE - ISSUE 9 SPRING

Art & Culture

BURNING BRIGHT Exactly 100 years after they dazzled London with their irreverent bohemianism, the Bright Young Things are partying again in a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

Dancing until dawn at drug-fuelled raves, shattering In yet another parallel that can be drawn with our post- gender norms and celebrating queer love – we’re not me too society, this movement was spearheaded by talking about youth culture in London today. Between the women. Finding chaperoned tea dances somewhat staid, wars, in the 1920s, there existed, briefly, a cross section of modern young ladies began hosting raucous treasure society that burned incredibly bright, yet was ultimately hunts around London, quickly attracting the attention of underpinned by darkness. their male counterparts. Access to fast cars allowed the treasure hunts to move to the country, where the growing Dubbed the Bright Young Things by journalists at the time, crowd hopped between their parents’ stately piles this group of young creatives had a ‘live fast’ attitude, snorting cocaine, smoking hash and jitterbugging to jazz, perhaps the result of their families’ suffering in the war – which they perceived as the height of subversiveness. and many ended up dying young as a result. They were drawn to the avant-garde and outrageous. It’s impossible not to draw parallels between their world Dubbed the ‘society drug addict’ by the press, Brenda and ours. That sense that they were living in a time of flux, Dean Paul was an actress who claimed to survive on when the conventions of the past sat as uncomfortably as nothing but brandy cocktails and salted peanuts for the bone corsets many women were finally eschewing, years. Stephen Tennant, the famously louche youngest and the future felt pregnant with potential. Cash- son of the Earl of Glenconnor, literally spent the majority strapped millennials’ attitude to boomers echoes the of his life in bed and favoured an androgynous look post-war political and financial struggles of the younger that went on to infuence David Bowie. Others in the generation in the 1920s, and the whispers of a crisis on the set included Evelyn Waugh, the Sitwells, Rex Whistler, horizon gave a ‘carpe diem’ glint to life. With the future so the Mitfords and Cecil Beaton, who captured their uncertain, why not wring every drop from today? extravagance in mesmerising portraits.

Cecil Beatons’ Bright Young Things is being shown at The National Portrait Gallery between 12 March and 7 June. From £18. npg.org.uk

Cecil Beaton by Paul Tanqueray, 1937. National Portrait Gallery, London. © Estate of Paul Tanqueray.

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Cecil Beaton at Sandwich, early 1920s. © The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive.

Paula Gellibrand, Marquesa de Casa Maury by Cecil Beaton, 1928. © The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive.

Nancy and Baba Beaton by Cecil Beaton, 1926. © The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive.

Maxine Freeman-Thomas dressed for Ascot in the year Paula Gellibrand, Marquesa de Casa Maury by Cecil Beaton, 1928. 2000 for the Dream of Fair Women Ball © The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive. by Cecil Beaton, 1928. © The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive. 16 17 Why not try... Savour spring in the most elegant way imaginable with a new afternoon tea inspired by Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, which recently returned to the Royal Opera House. Head to the airy Piazza Restaurant to nibble the likes of white swan macarons with chocolate wings and butter-soft tiny sandwiches as a Royal Ballet pianist tinkles the ivories.

£45pp. Thursdays to Saturdays, 12 March – 18 April 2020. roh.org.uk

Photo by: Steven Joyce

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I’ve spent months raving about root vegetables and reminding everyone that cabbage is actually far better than most people think (‘it’s so versatile’), but in my opinion no winter vegetable can compete with the waxy, fluffy joy of a Jersey Royal. With skin as soft as a kitten’s eyelid and a delicate flavour, they’re the edible embodiment of spring in all its vulnerability and hopefulness.

Alongside milk and cream, Jersey Royals are one of As with many of the best things in life, Jersey Royals Jersey’s gastronomic calling cards and their kidney were invented by a lucky person with a curious shape is, literally, unique. Alongside Champagne mind. In fact, they were originally called Jersey and Parmesan, it is the only British vegetable to Flukes, before being rechristened by monarchy have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, obsessed Victorians. protecting it from imitators and meaning it can only be grown on the island’s sunny shores. It all began with a post-ploughing supper thrown by a local farmer called Hugh de la Haye in 1879. The conversation turned to spuds, and Hugh showed his guests two freakishly bulbous potatoes he'd been gifted. One had 15 ‘eyes’, just waiting to sprout, so he cut them up and stuck each one in the ground to see what would happen. The following spring a crop appeared, and while most of the potatoes were round, some had the characteristic shape and creamy texture of what would later become known as the Jersey Royal. Buried Treasure Imogen Lepere unearths the bizarre history of Jersey Royals and reflects on what makes them such a fixture of springtime lunch tables.

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Make your own: Jersey Royal and In terms of enjoying tarragon salad them, it’s best to Savour spring with an aromatic keep it simple and potato salad from Tom Booton, head allow their natural chef of The Grill at The Dorchester. “Jersey Royals are the most delicious new potatoes vitality to shine. we grow in the UK. I would suggest pairing this dish with a glass of crisp, refreshing white wine such as Chapel Down’s Bacchus 2018, which is England’s answer to the Sauvignon Blanc grape.”

Ingredients 200g washed Jersey Royals 2 bunches of tarragon 500ml vegetable oil 1 bunch of spring onions 1 packet of baby gem lettuce 4 egg yolks 20g white wine vinegar (chardonnay if possible) 10g Dijon mustard Salt Pepper Today, there are still around 20 specialist farmers. Jerseys should never be peeled because their Potatoes planted on the early slopes are hand- delicate skin is high in vitamin C, as well as nutty lifted, with mechanical harvesters used only for flavour. To clean them, simply rinse them under a the later, flatter fields. The fields on slopes near the tap and rub lightly between your fingers. Boil with a Method coast – known as côtils – are so steep that almost bit of salt for about 20 minutes, then drain and leave all the work is done by hand, while wild seaweed them with the lid on for a few minutes to make them Blitz the tarragon (saving the smallest leaves) vegetable oil, until you reach the velvety consistency and manure from local cows are still the favoured fluffy. Top with a slab of Jersey butter and a sprinkle with 300ml of vegetable oil for 5 mins until green. of mayonnaise. If it goes too thick add a touch of fertilisers. Safe to say a Jersey Royal farmer’s life of sea salt and you have a side dish fit for royalty. Pass through a sieve and leave to cool. Cover the cold water to rectify. Taste and check if additional isn’t an easy one, but boy is it worth it. potatoes with water and generously season with seasoning is needed. salt and pepper. Cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes. Once cooked, drain and cool in the fridge. Cut the potatoes in half and mix with the tarragon mayonnaise. They have a fridge life of two days – Combine the yolks, mustard, vinegar and salt perfect for preparing in advance if you’re planning and blitz with a hand blender. Start slowly; if you a spring lunch party or picnic. To serve, present the go too fast, it will split and you’ll need to start the baby gem leaves beautifully in a bowl and add the process again in a new bowl with an extra egg potatoes on top. Slice the spring onions finely on an yolk. Add in the green oil you made earlier. Once angle, scatter onto the potatoes, and garnish with finished blending, add the remaining 200ml of the remaining tarragon leaves.

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The The Bar & Grill is a stylish yet Spud Club informal venue to enjoy great food, drink and ambience, right in the Where to taste Jersey Royals heart of Dolphin Square in Pimlico in London this spring

Muse by Tom Aikens, OPENING TIMES

Chelsea Monday – Saturday 7.00am – 10.00pm Sunday 7.30am – 10.00pm Classic flavours from a Michelin-starred chef with To book call: 020 7798 8699 or visit a passion for provenance. dolphinhouse.dolphinsquare.co.uk/bar-grill musebytomaikens.co.uk

Hix Oyster and Chop House, Skewd Kitchen, Smithfield Barnet

Seasonal specials alongside Innovative reimaginings of British oysters and traditional Turkish tastes grass-fed meat. and techniques. hixrestaurants.co.uk skewdkitchen.com

Smoke and Salt, Anglo Restaurant, Tooting Farringdon

Punchy, flame-seared small Weekly menus of local plates in a casual setting. ingredients cooked with smokeandsalt.com confidence. anglorestaurant.com

Dolphin Square Chichester Street, London SW1V 3LX 24 [email protected] 25 THE SQUARE - ISSUE 9 SPRING THE SQUARE - ISSUE 9 SPRING Honing your CRAFT As our interest in logging off from our digitally obsessed lives grows, arts and crafts have undergone a huge resurgence. Forget glitter glue and poster paints, Fleur Rollet-Manus gets creative with the best craft courses in London. Photo by: Angelina Litvin / Unsplash / Litvin Angelina by: Photo

Carve your own ring with Throw clay at The Workbench, Studio Pottery, Peckham Victoria

Put a ring on it with The Workbench, a two-hour ring- Urban ceramic-making communities are on the rise, carving workshop started by jewellery designers and thanks, in part, to Victoria-based Studio Pottery who best friends Katie and Kristie. Echoing our ethos that has brought the ancient craft back to the centre of creativity flows best when accompanied by a couple London. Throwing clay – the art of pulling the walls of decent cocktails, the classes pop up in some of of the clay into something resembling a cylinder – London’s hippest drinking dens. Fairy lit and potted- requires complete concentration, patience and the plant-strewn Peckham Springs will host the next set. willingness to engage with your creative side. There Each session starts with a sketch of your bespoke are no shortcuts for creating ceramics, although knuckle-duster or perfectly proportioned pinkie ring, lovely vases that pay homage to The Leaning Tower before you attempt to recreate your design using a of Pisa are usually the result of a slip of the mind as chunk of jeweller’s wax. Armed with a craft knife and opposed to the hands. Unsteady hands can start other miniature tools, you’ll file, shave and hack away with the taster sessions that take place on selected at the wax until you have created a unique, textured Saturday afternoons. Small-sized classes situated in piece of jewellery. It’ll be returned to you within four a light-filled studio in Eccleston Yards teach you how weeks polished, preened and set in solid silver. Or, to prepare, mould and throw multiple pots, before should you be feeling flush, you can have it set in gold. the studio glazes and fires the vessel on your behalf. It makes a very personal gift for someone special – Your handcrafted masterpiece will then be ready for and is an excellent way to show yourself some love. collection within two to four weeks, and is sure to take pride of place in your living room.

THE DETAIL: A two-hour class costs £79 and includes THE DETAIL: A three-hour class costs £125pp. 4 and 25 your professionally polished ring. 30 April. The distance April. The distance from Dolphin Square to Ecclestone from Dolphin Square to Peckham Springs is 6km. Yards is 1km. studio-pottery-london.co.uk theworkbenchlondon.com

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Smash it with Find your signature scent at Learn the knitty gritty with the Get stuffed with South London Mosaics, Experimental Perfume Lovely Craft Club, The British Academy of Holborn Club, London Fields Islington Taxidermy, Islington

Dabble in the 4000-year-old art form of mosaic Equal parts art and science, the secrets of scents A one-stop shop for those keen to experiment with Once a long-forgotten Victorian pastime, taxidermy making to create a one-of-a-kind homeware piece are usually reserved for Parisian parfumiers in their crafts, Lovely Craft Club organises a packed calendar has made a fashionable comeback decorating the with South London Mosaics. Led by master mosaicist ateliers, carefully balancing out new blends on of workshops ranging from crochet, knitting and walls of hip homes, gracing catwalks and adorning Giulia Manzoni – who hails from the world-famous delicate scales. Until Emmanuelle Moeglin – graduate needle felting to building beaded macramé plant contemporary art galleries in exhibitions by the likes Mosaic School in Spilimbergo, Italy – the seven-hour of the prestigious ISIPCA perfume academy located hangers and experimenting with blowing glass. of Damien Hirst and Marc Quinn. Teaching you to get workshop equips you with all the tools (materials, on the outskirts of Versailles – lifted the lid and invited Suited to the time poor and artistically challenged, stuffed since 2009, taxidermist Tonja Grung will guide wood frame and mosaic tools are all included) to inquisitive noses into her fragrance laboratory. To their three-hour beginners ‘giant arm knitting’ class you through preparing, setting and preserving your create a 15x15cm mosaic tile. During the one-day create your fragrance you’re required to open your gives you a chance to boost your craft confidence own animal sculptures to form eclectic showpieces session you’ll learn how to cut, lay, grout and polish nose and rediscover the power of smell. You’ll rank and experiment with creating something from raw – ideal for updating your living room. The less your mosaic using either an indirect technique or 25 raw scents based on your emotive response and materials. Pitched to relax and distract, knitting squeamish amongst us will want to dive straight in with direct technique. If you can, select a course that the memories they evoke. Next, you’ll follow your experience isn’t necessary and there’s no fiddly Rogue Taxidermy. With an emphasis on the curiouser teaches the slower-paced direct technique, as this nose and take tiny grams of your preferred scents needles to grapple with. Instead, you’ll be layered with and the curiouser, expect to create two-headed mice is closest to the original Roman way. Here tesserae plus a complex maths equation to layer into a series mammoth balls of yarn sourced from UK-based Woolly wearing berets and specs and rats with wings playing (mosaic pieces) are glued directly on the wood of ‘perfumery accords’. The accords will then blend Mahoosive and instructed to use your arms to knit and a cricket match. Before playing dress up, however, support using tweezers and tile adhesive – the into your own bespoke perfume, that’ll be named and weave the blanket from one end to the other. Trust is the grizzly stuff. Begin by warming the mice by modern day equivalent to the lime and grout they bottled, ready for you to spritz on your waltz home. us, it’s as easy to create as clicking ‘buy it now’ on the rolling them in your hand, scraping out the insides and once used. Even if arts and crafts really aren’t your same blanket you were eyeing up on Etsy, but so much blasting the skins dry with a hairdryer so they’re ready forte, it’ll still look like you’ve smashed it. more rewarding. to stuff. Fear not; all specimens are ethically sourced.

THE DETAIL: A seven-hour course costs £90 and THE DETAIL: A three-hour class starts at £115 and THE DETAIL: A three-hour knitting class costs £69. 28 THE DETAIL: An eight-hour class costs £195 and includes includes your tile. 8 March and 25 April. The distance includes a 15ml bottle of personalised perfume. Courses March. The distance from Dolphin Square to Lovely Craft your final item. 23 May. The distance from Dolphin from Dolphin Square to South London Mosaics is 4.9km. take place Friday and Saturday. The distance from Club is 8.5km. lovelycraftclub.co.uk Square to The British Academy of Taxidermy is 11km. southlondonmosaic.com Dolphin Square to the Experimental Perfume Club is thebritishacademyoftaxidermy.org 9km.experimentalperfumeclub.com

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Stay in the heart of London

WHETHER YOU ARE VISITING LONDON FOR ONE NIGHT, A WEEKEND, A WEEK OR THREE MONTHS, DOLPHIN HOUSE OFFERS YOU LUXURY AND COMFORT IN A TRANQUIL, RELAXING SETTING THAT IS FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD, YET MINUTES FROM CENTRAL LONDON

Reservations: 020 7798 5690 / 6890

Whittle while you work at the Make it fit with Goodlife Centre, Henri London, Southbank Hackney

Keen to furnish your home with something a bit more Forgo fast fashion in favour of tailoring your own interesting than an Ikea flat pack? The Goodlife with Henri London’s classic shirt workshop. Famed Centre teaches you all the skills you need to work for championing rural Indian cotton farmers and with wood. Take inspiration from the Tate Modern endangered weaving communities, Henri London (which is just next door) and learn to measure, mark, shows that sustainability can be as sexy as your shirt chisel and cut out grooves to make a handy, step-up fit. Fuelled entirely by your artistic edge, you’ll need to pine stool. Don’t worry if you can't currently tell your bring 2-metres of fabric – non-stretch, 100% organic saw blades from your saw bands, by the end you’ll cotton poplin, twill or denim works best – buttons, know your way around your toolbox better than thread and a basic level of sewing. A sewing machine a lumberjack. After completing the introductory and Henri London pattern are provided. Founder carpentry class, try your hand at the ‘make a wood and fashion graduate Henrietta Adams will take you chair’ course that takes place over twelve evenings step-by-step through the process, mixing industry from 20 April. Before long you’ll be whittling Eames- standards with her own tried-and-tested techniques. inspired chairs, restoring rattan furniture to decorate Thanks to her patience and unflappable nature, your balcony and building replicas of the chaise hemming will become a breeze and constructing a longue you found in Marrakesh that didn’t meet your shirt collar as easy as threading a needle. By the end airline’s weight restrictions. of the two-day class you’ll take home a bespoke shirt, your own pattern and the knowledge and skills to recreate a whole wardrobe of classic shirts.

THE DETAIL: Woodwork for beginners takes place on THE DETAIL: A two-day classic shirt-making course costs two consecutive Sundays. Courses cost £345 and £250 including your finished garment. Courses will be take place throughout March and April. The distance taking place 21 – 22 March. The distance from Dolphin from Dolphin Square to the Goodlife Centre is 3.8km. Square to Henri London is 8km. henri.londoncom Dolphin Square thegoodlifecentre.co.uk Chichester Street, London SW1V 3LX 30 dh@[email protected] 31 THE SQUARE - ISSUE 9 SPRING THE SQUARE - ISSUE 9 SPRING

As we emerge from winter’s icy snatches, you The division of the body into separate functional might hear people saying that they feel more systems is really just a convenient way for medical positive. Perhaps we are also focusing on students to learn and for specialists to focus on their our bodies, trying to shed those extra kilos in particular area of expertise. Osteopathy aims to preparation for summer and improving our re-integrate these aspects of health into a coherent Feeling your way holistic (meaning 'whole') approach. It works on physical wellness. However, by distinguishing the concept that our physical entity is a reflection mental health from physical health in this way, of thoughts and behaviours which, in turn, are we continue to stigmatise mental illness – and directed by the environment. to better health stop people finding the right treatment. Osteopaths consider mechanical, biopsychosocial, nutritional and lifestyle factors as part of an May is mental health awareness month so overall patient assessment. In some cases more Mental and physical health are far more linked than specific expert help is required. Calmer Clinics is we asked David Propert, resident osteopath many realise. There is plenty of evidence to suggest a group of experienced practitioners including that the brain is only one of many parts of the body psychotherapists, counsellors, and nutritional at Calmer Clinics, to discuss the symbiotic that form one’s overall experience of consciousness. therapists who can work in an integrated way to For example, one of the earliest indicators of kidney provide the right package of care. relationship between body and mind – and share some disease can be personality changes. By treating of his favourite practical exercises for wellbeing. the underlying kidney problem, we can restore the By following a healthy approach to yourself, those normal functioning of the central nervous system, around you and to your environment, the whole including the brain. Similarly, the healthy bacteria becomes greater than the sum of its parts. in our guts can produce neuro-chemicals which influence a multitude of hormonal, neurological and Calmer Clinics is a dedicated team of experienced immune functions in the body. This gut microbiome healthcare professionals based at Dolphin has been called the ‘gut-brain’. We have all Square who believe in a holistic 360° approach to experienced the negative effect on our mood when wellbeing. To book an appointment with David, we haven’t eaten for too long, but we don’t classify call 020 7798 8685, email [email protected] being ‘hangry’ as having poor mental health – or visit the Calmer Clinics website. £90 one hour’s although the symptoms may appear similar. initial consultation. calmerclinics.wordpress.com

Putting it into practice

Using colour to reduce pain Pain really is all in the mind and one way to the pressure you are applying on the painful point counteract it is shifting the emphasis of treatment throughout the exhale until you are barely touching away from the part of the body that hurts, towards the skin. Repeat this three times. the inner being itself. A practical technique I often Breathing through anxiety use is called the colour cloud. Lie down on your back with your eyes closed, find an area on the Breathing properly is a fundamental but often body that feels painful and try to find a bullseye neglected aspect of wellness. If you sigh or yawn a point. Press into that point with your thumb to lot or have an erratic breathing rhythm, you may slightly intensify the feeling of pain and, as you be changing your physiology towards ill-health. An do that, imagine a colour. Breathe in deeply and easy technique to counteract anxiety is paper bag slowly while visualising that colour becoming more breathing, which can be done every day. Place a and more intense. Slightly increase the pressure paper bag over your nose and mouth and breathe you are applying at the painful point while you do normally for about 10 cycles. By re-breathing your this. When you get to maximum inhalation, hold the exhaled air, your blood CO2 levels will increase breathe for two seconds then, as you exhale slowly, back to normal. Another easy way to handle anxiety imagine the colour as a cloud that is being expelled and shock is 4/2/6 breathing. Breathe in for four with your out-breathe. Gradually release seconds, hold the breath for two, then breathe out steadily for six seconds. Repeat five times.

32 33 Swagger on the slopes Nick Savage embraces the last of this year’s snow in Japan with a suave, sustainable board crafted by hand in London.

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My journey begins in Busworks – a former Victorian omnibus factory in an industrial section of Caledonian Road. Standing gormlessly in front of Toolstation Islington, I place a call to James Mechie, who darts out of a cubbyhole on the opposite side of the street and invites me in. Computer monitors glow, skis and boards are arrayed along the wall, wooden tables and shelves are laden with tools and resin, and a mammoth press occupies the hind quarters of the room. It's a sort of Savile Row for snowsports. Mechie is the founder of Nix. Taking its name from the Latin word for snow, it only seems right that I test ride one of his snowboards on the snowiest slopes on the planet, a trip I’ll be embarking on in a few days. Japan’s Hokkaido is renowned for its ski resorts, which receive more snow on average than anywhere else in the world. High pressure weather systems sweep over Siberia, absorb moisture from the Pacific and spew it on northern Japan’s mountains, creating abundant and exceptionally dry powder. Over a steaming mug of tea, Mechie explains the path his company has taken since launching in 2013. With a degree in industrial design from Brunel, he applied himself to creating custom skis and snowboards, prototyping various designs and constructing a pneumatic press that exerts 70 tons of pressure (the equivalent of about five and half London buses) to cook the planks into their final form. Sounds pretty complex right? ‘There's fundamentally nothing wildly technical about it,’ James demurs. ‘It's more the design specifics and things like the tip and tip rocker moulds that take time.’ For the core of the board he uses bamboo, carbon fibre and flax, all of which are more eco-friendly and easier to tweak than fibreglass and epoxy. Employing this system, he can build a completely bespoke snowboard in five weeks. The process begins by inviting guests into his workshop to discuss what they’re looking for. He’ll then create skis or a board depending on the rider’s height, weight, stance, type of boots, inside-leg length, preferred type of riding and can even add custom topsheet graphics. ‘People often liken it to high-end suits,’ Mechie adds. As in Savile Row’s many prestigious shops, bespoke snowboards are made from scratch and completely custom-tailored to the customer’s body and style. Nix’s made-to-measure product involves standardised skis or snowboards that are altered to spec. Regardless of the package, the point is to make you look and feel as good as possible on the slopes. There are three basic shapes in the made-to- measure category, all with a backcountry influence. James hands me a 158cm Enigma. ‘This one uses some of the same design influences, but it's a full twin, so it's just very fun. It's got a lot of surface area, and a big nose and tail. It's perfect for backcountry powder.’

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other mountain in the world. The snowboard excels here. Its blunt-nosed, full twin layout comes in handy when riding switch or popping off side hits, and, like Rusutsu, there is a surfeit of frisky tree runs. At one point I attempt a few descents on a swallow- tailed powder board, but quickly revert to the Nix Enigma. It fits like a glove despite being cut from a very different cloth. I can only imagine the ride on one of Nix’s bespoke tailored packages. Mark Twain once said that ‘clothes make the man.’ Mechie’s products might not be able to magically make you into a better snowboarder but they will definitely enhance your performance by making you look and feel your very The following Friday finds me in Sapporo, Japan in I make a beeline for the glades. The slope we best. Just like a well-cut suit. just under 13 hours. FinnAir has launched a new flight descend is sheer with tightly packed deciduous trees route through Helsinki that cuts out a layover in Tokyo and bamboo shoots emerging from dense snow. In and two hours of travel time, making Hokkaido's certain places, it’s been moshed into moguls. At 6’4” The detail slopes more alluring than ever. Soon after landing and 100kg, a 158cm board is generally smaller than at Chitose I find myself atop the peak of Mt Isola, the what I prefer, but in this technical terrain I’m glad I Nix Snowsports offers bespoke skis and highest point in the Rusutsu ski resort at 994m. have something to throw around as I jump into turns. snowboards from £1,675. Made to measure skis from £895 and snowboards from £595. The view is spectacular. Copses of small and spidery ‘Float is basically just a function of pressure’ I nixsnowsports.com silver birch are fleeced in white woolly snow, their remember James saying. ‘So all you're trying to do slender branches drooping under the weight. In is increase the surface area for a given weight.’ The Finnair launched direct flights from London the east, the perfect circle of a full moon hangs in width of the board keeps me buoyant on the thick Heathrow and Manchester, via Helsinki to the salmon-pink sky and, to the west, the setting powder, but when I emerge on the piste it does a fine sun fires Lake Tōya and the Pacific Ocean with a job handling big turns on the steeps. Sapporo in December 2019. Return fares lambent gleam. Most striking of all is the perfectly with Finnair from London Heathrow, via level caldera of active stratovolcano Mt Yōtei, one of Niseko is one of the best-known mountains in Japan, Helsinki to Sapporo start from £760 and Japan’s most iconic mountains, also known as Ezo- receiving 14m of snowfall on average per year. In £2,815 in business class. finnair.com Fuji, Hokkaido’s answer to Fuji. fact, it’s thought to receive more snowfall than any

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BRIX TON How to spend the perfect day in Brixton

Colourful, charismatic and a little rough around the edges, Brixton is having a moment. You may know its name from the famous race riots of the 1980’s and The Clash’s 1979 hit ‘The Guns of Brixton’, but in recent years things have taken a more genteel turn. Although the area remains a proud bastion of Caribbean culture, Scandinavian clothing boutiques and sleek coffee houses that wouldn’t look out of place on Broadway Market are now scattered between the jerk chicken shops and tiny stalls blasting reggae. It may be just three stops from Pimlico, but Brixton throbs with its own unique energy. Here’s how to experience it to the max in a single day.

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Breakfast bites Activity o’clock Check out the David Bowie mural opposite the The Ritzy Picturehouse stands proudly on tube (he was born on Stansfield Road), before Windrush Square, showing the latest releases sauntering up Atlantic Road to Parissi. With its as well as reruns of classics. Next door, the handful of upcycled tables and vines trailing Black Cultural Archives celebrate the history from the ceiling, this cosy cafe has a real of Caribbean and African people in Britain community feel. Owner Spyros Parrisis crafts through thought-provoking exhibitions, while all the pastries himself and his cinnamon buns Brockwell Park is a bucolic patch of green. At – flakey, caramelised swirls of goodness – are the quirkier end of the spectrum, you'll find well worth making the journey for. south London's only sabre fencing club in the recreation centre on Tuesday nights and a working windmill that's open for tours on weekends. Photo by: Otto Norin / Unsplash Photo by: Clare Whiting / Unsplash

Peruse the shelves Slender poles of sugarcane and designer trainers; vintage tea dresses; diced kid goat and knapsacks made with African cloth. Shopping in Brixton is as varied as the number of exotic flowers that grow on St. Vincent. Try Article for heritage menswear in a minimal railway arch, Cornercopia for quirky homewares and Round Table Books, a crowd- funded shop that sells works by writers from marginalised communities. Photo by: Nihal Demirci / Unsplash Photo by: Luke Stackpoole / Unsplash Photo by: Carlos De / Unsplash Toro

Time for lunch Book a table Between Pop Brixton, Brixton Market and A charcoal grill restaurant serving small plates Brixton Village you’re spoilt for choice when alongside low intervention wines, Naughty it comes to casual eateries, but we think Piglets is still one of the hottest seats this those in the Village have the edge. Mamalan side of the river. Husband and wife Joe and sells Beijing street food made to the owners’ Margaux Sharratt’s candlelit bistro is always mother’s and grandmother’s recipes and bursting at the seams with a fashionable, the results are spectacular, while Sponge & foodie crowd, so you’ll need to book ahead. Cream’s cakes are beautifully moist. Regulars rave about their signature linguine with cured egg yolk.

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THE URBAN GARDENER Spring Diary

MARCH APRIL MAY

Feed Tie In Birds Feed trees, shrubs and hedges Honeysuckle and clematis will Check heges for nesting birds with fertiliser, preferably a slow need tying in before putting on before strimming. release one, and fork it into the growth. soil. Blackfly Deadhead Check your broad bean Slugs Daffodils and tulips will need plants for blackfly and pinch Watch out for slugs. As the deadheading once they finish. out the top couple of inches of weather gets warmer, they're After, let the foliage die back flowering plants if they're infected. attracted to new growth. naturally. Herbs Compost Divide Allow your herbs to flower to Dig in well rotted green waste and This month is a good time attract pollinating bees. compost to vegetable beds before to divide perenial plants to the growing season. encourage new life for Mulch your garden. After rain, mulch warm Cover soil to retain moisture Any prepared soil will need Instant Lawn and stop weeds. covering with black plastic to keep Lay new turf this month warm and ready for planting. and keep well watered until it is established.

March tip April tip May tip Put in supports now for any Jet wash or hose down paths Known as the Chelsea Chop, plants that need it, so the and patio areas, to remove chop back herbaceous and spring growth can grow any soil that weeds might perenial plants to make around them. grow in. them bushier and continue flowering.

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LONDON C TER OU EA NC R IL G GEORGE BENTHAM Blue Plaque 1800-1884 Botanist lived here Focus 1864-1884 LUXURY SPA INSPIRED BY THE ESSENCE OF MOROCCO Wander the fragrant tents and leafy gardens of the Chelsea Flower Show (19-23 May) and you’ll see each plant has a corresponding tag with its name scrawled in Latin. These signs would have read very differently if it hadn’t been for George Bentham, a famously pedantic botanist who lived at 25 Wilton Place.

Bentham was born in Plymouth in 1800. Although he received no formal education, he could speak French, German and Russian by the age of seven, and went on to learn Swedish. An admirable brain that would later come in very handy for memorising the proper names of plants.

As an adult, his uncle pushed him into becoming a lawyer, yet his love of flowers, instilled by his mother Mary Sophia Bentham, also a botanist, never wavered. He became secretary of the Horticultural Society of London from 1829 to 1840.

When he inherited his father and uncle’s estates, he was wealthy enough to devote all his attention to plants and abandoned the law all together.

The rest of his life was spent buried in books, working at Opening Times Kew Gardens (he famously had just one summer holiday in Monday – Tuesday 10.30am - 7.00pm 29 years) and visiting every single herbarium in Europe. His Wednesday – Sunday 9.30am - 8.00pm system for classifying plants is still used and his many books are still consulted by botany students today. For treatment bookings please go to spa.dolphinsquare.co.uk or call one of our Spa Mentors on 020 7798 6767

George Bentham, botanist, lived at 25 Wilton Place, SW1X 8RL, from 1864 - 1884 Dolphin Square Chichester Street, London SW1V 3LX 46 [email protected] 47 THE SQUARE - ISSUE 9 SPRING

www.dolphinsquare.co.uk | Tel: +44 (0)20 7834 3800 48