At Frost we’re hopelessly obsessed gardeners, though none of us aspire to an English Country House Garden. We do however most certainly visit, examine, envy and love them.

We love this book too. It is one for the coffee table, but not just for appearances’ sake, it is for dipping into, losing yourself in, finding inspiration, finding calm.

Stroll amongst the images of high yew hedges, the topiary, and traditional planting with oodles of old English roses, the white gardens, the herb gardens… Yes, somehow quintessentially English this book digs deeper and introduces us to the owners, and the stories behind the making of the 25 gardens; the struggles, the obsessions. We learn about the ins and outs of the grand, the personal, the discreet, the private. Its like peeking from the top of a bus into other people’s worlds. The photography covers the gardens throughout the seasons, and somehow captures the nature of the owners as it is reflected in the gardens. I now have a long, long list of places I have to visit this year.

This book is a treat. Keep it with you. Admire its text and images, and visit, visit and cherish the sheer existence of these glorious gardens.

My one disappointment is that Heligan is not included, but then we have followed its rebirth from its early days, so perhaps we don’t need to know more, but maybe in a later issue.

The English Country House Garden by George Plumptre. Photographs by Marcus Harpur pub White Lion Publishing. hb £18.99

Company Directors: Jeremy Thompson & Jane Rowland

Frost Magazine has a soft spot for Matador as it is enormously helpful to one of Frost’s favourite charities, Words for the Wounded and its Georgina Hawtrey-Woore Independent Author Award, and through WforW we know some of its authors’ books, and fine looking and produced beasts they are too.

It was great news, therefore to hear that:  Matador has pipped Amazon into second place as the best self-publishing service provider in the self-publishing sector of The Independent Publishing Magazine’s Publisher Index.

Matador has been ranked as the best self-publishing service provider, knocking Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) off the top spot for the first time, and being rated ahead of big names like IngramSpark, Kobo and Smashwords by The Independent Publishing Magazine (see: www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/2018/11/publishing-service-index-november-2018-with-notes.html).

With over 25 years in the industry, Matador, part of Troubador Publishing Ltd, offers authors a range of self-publishing services, from editorial and production, marketing and distribution to ebooks and audiobooks. As the UK’s most widely recommended self-publishing services provider, Matador has moved up to the top spot in the Independent Publishing Magazine’s Publisher Index, which rates self-publishing companies on measures such as customer feedback, the quality of books published, the range of services and the quality of customer service.

The Independent Publishing Magazine produces a ‘Publisher Service Index’ twice a year, in which it independently ranks over 80 self-publishing companies worldwide. Matador have consistently been in the top three of the rankings for five years, alongside the industry ‘big boys’, but in November last year they took the coveted top spot for the first time.

‘We offer a bespoke and high-quality self-publishing service, with a wide range of options for authors, with a team of 24 committed professional staff and a strong emphasis on customer service, quality and producing books that are indistinguishable from those published by mainstream publishers. We are delighted that we have been recognised as the top choice for self-publishing authors serious about their writing and publishing projects. We’ve been helping authors for over 25 years and the publishing landscape has changed significantly since then, so we are thrilled to be at the forefront of helping authors produce and sell quality books. We’ve always been one of the most highly recommended companies, but now it’s wonderful to be recognised as such by an independent industry source too.’ comments Jeremy Thompson, Matador’s Managing Director

Matador publishes over 600 new titles a year for self-publishing authors, but also offers bookshop distribution and trade and media marketing to its authors. The company is selective in what it takes on for self-publishing, preferring to concentrate on quality rather than quantity. Matador is part of Leicestershire based Troubador Publishing, an independent UK publisher offering a range of publishing options to authors. They also organise a range of events for authors, including the annual Self-Publishing Conference (April 27th 2019)

For more information: matador@troubador.co.uk

Ovalhouse, 52-54 Kennington Oval, London SE11 5SW Wednesday 30th January – Saturday 6th April 2019

Random Selfies (Image courtesy of The Other Richard)

2019 is a significant year for Ovalhouse as it marks their final year programming theatre in their current home, before an exciting nine months, staging performances in unusual locations, prior to moving into their new space in Brixton. Ovalhouse’s Spring Season 2019 presents two full length shows and five FiRST BiTES as their theme of care and, most importantly, survival is further explored to strengthen the theatre’s important principles of nurturing emerging artists.

Kicking off the season with Rhiannon Faith’s Smack That (a conversation), Ovalhouse will transform the theatre into a giant house party, complete with cider and popcorn.  But, this is no ordinary party.  The powerful production is a very raw and honest account of domestic abuse, performed by a mixed cast of professional dancers and domestic abuse survivors.  As part of this production, Ovalhouse will become a J9 venue, supporting women in our community who experience domestic abuse; this unusual setting creates a safe space for them to share the challenges they have faced and celebrate their endurance with the audience.

Following its premiere earlier this year and Off-West End nomination for Best Production for Young People, the incredible digitally-animated Random Selfies by Olivier Award-winning playwright Mike Kenny will return for a three-week run.  Directed by Owen Calvert-Lyons, Ovalhouse’s Head of Theatre & Artist Development, this play explores child loneliness while bringing to life the vivid imagination of ten-year-old Loretta; a lonely girl in a busy world.

As ever, Ovalhouse’s FiRST BiTE programme is packed full of bright ideas and powerful personal stories.  Richard Stamp tells the story of his tumultuous six-months of diagnosis to amputation in Dick.  Coco Mbassi teaches us the power of music in Haendel on the Estate, while Sherine Chalhie stages her semi-autobiographical tale Hijabi Matters.

Additionally, Ovalhouse welcome back Pecho Mama with a work-in-progress showing of their new show Divine Intervention – an electrifying gig-theatre production telling the story of two broken people and their search for salvation.  And, Koko Brown will work together with Ovalhouse’s new Associate Artist Joana Nastari to create Amazonian Sweat Lodge, exploring the consumerism and faux spiritualism in a new collaboration with CASA.

Owen Calvert-Lyons, Ovalhouse’s Head of Theatre & Artist Development, comments, We are delighted to be bringing Rhiannon Faith’s Smack That to Ovalhouse this spring.  This is a really important production exploring the impact of domestic abuse against people.  The show celebrates what it means to survive.  As part of this process, we are training all our staff in order for Ovalhouse to become a J9 venue; supporting people in our community who experience domestic abuse.  Mike Kenny’s Random Selfies makes a welcome return after the success of its run last year which saw the show nominated for Best Production for Young People. We are also announcing our brilliant new Associate Artists: Joana Nastari, Xana and The Thelmas.  These three artists will work with us over the next two years, beginning with Jo Nastari’s latest production Amazonian Sweat Lodge which questions society’s fascination with consumerism and faux spirituality.  These are all extraordinary artists and I can’t wait to introduce our audiences to their work.

Tickets are available priced £15 | £10 concessions   Preview tickets are £9 Random Selfies tickets are £10 adult |£7 under 16s Discount family packages|£28 (2 adults, 2 children)  FiRST BiTES tickets|£5 in advance |£8 on the door Available from Ovalhouse Box Office and

More details of the programme from: www.ovalhouse.com, 020 7582 7680.

Twitter @Ovalhouse

www.facebook.com/Ovalhouse

Lots to look forward to:

Rotterdam – Donnacadh O’Briain’s Olivier award-winning production

The fastest growing arts festival in the UK, VAULT Festival returns to Waterloo (23 Jan – 17 Mar) with its biggest and boldest programme yet with the best in new writing for theatre and comedy, immersive experiences, cabaret, live performance and late night parties.

Making her West End debut, Star Trek: The Next Generation star Marina Sirtis will take the lead in the world premiere of Dark Sublime, the love-letter to British sci-fi television for both those that make it and those that adore it. (25 June – 3 Aug, Trafalgar Studios)

Tackling the migrant experience and performed by a mixed ensemble, including those who have recently sought refuge in the UK, Welcome to the UK has its world premiere at The Bunker. (22 Jan – 16 Feb)

The first time Soho Theatre have programmed circus, No Show joyously and heartbreakingly deconstructs superhuman circus performers and reveals what lies hidden beneath the showmanship. (22 Jan – 9 Feb)

In 2019, Waltham Forest will be the first ever London Borough of Culture and to mark this, audio visual artists Greenaway & Greenaway, in a unique collaboration with award-winning musician Talvin Singh, have created a spectacular projection for the Town Hall as part of the opening event, Welcome To The Forest. (9 – 13 Jan)

Across the UK:

Following critically acclaimed runs in London and a highly successful transfer to New York, Donnacadh O’Briain’s Olivier award-winning production of Rotterdam, which explores transitioning and sexuality, will now embark on an extensive UK tour (Apr – June 2019).

Following its acclaimed premiere in spring 2017, good dog by Arinzé Kene (Netflix’s Crazyhead; BBC’s EastEnders; Channel 4’s Youngers; Girl From the North Country, West End; Misty, Bush Theatre and West End) embarks on a national tour (Jan – Mar 2019).

A punchy and poetic exploration of family, race, identity and love from Manchester-based dual heritage writer David Judge, SparkPlug is the story of a white man who becomes the adoptive father, mother and best friend of a mixed-race child. (Feb – Apr 2019)

With their first foray into new writing, Chippy Lane Productions present the world premiere of BLUE – the debut play of young Welsh writer Rhys Warrington which shines a light on the current state of innumerable families across Wales as vital medical and NHS services are cut. (5 – 16 Feb, Chapter, Cardiff)

The title says it all.  How does a talented, intelligent young man grow up, pursue a career and find a life partner, with cancer sitting on his shoulder?

A fifteen year old shouldn’t get cancer at all – but Mark did – a malignant melanoma. Treatment at the time was to remove the tumour and cross your fingers. Because there was little else available, and a high chance the cancer would return.

55% five year survival; 50% ten year survival – these were the stark figures Mark heard during a medical lecture on melanoma, four years later. Yes, Mark was studying medicine – partly to help others but also to give himself the best chance. In which 50% would he fall? Would he even get to qualify as a doctor?

He did – but a severe stomach pain shattered the reprieve and on his 27^th birthday he learned that his cancer was back.

There was some hope though. Research had made massive leaps, and a new treatment could specifically target an abnormal protein found in 50% of melanomas. Would he be in the right 50% this time? He was, and started Dabrafenib. The tumours shrank, but didn’t disappear.

Importantly Mark felt better and grabbed the opportunity to live – really live.  He wrote a bucket list, ticking off every country in Europe with his twin brother, and arranged a big party in Malta. He raised money for Cancer Research UK. Within a few days he’d raised £20,000. (Today his fund is well over £200,000).

He wrote a blog. Through writing and fund-raising he raised awareness of melanoma and received numerous awards, and he gave many talks. At one of these Mark experienced another major life-event – LOVE. Georgie, a pretty medical student didn’t shy away from Mark’s frightening diagnosis. They were drawn together immediately and supported each other throughout, even training for a half marathon – an incredible achievement for someone with melanoma.

Mark gives a perceptive insight into being a patient and a doctor. He quickly learned that a consultant audience probably meant bad news; and he could spot ‘Palliative Care Team’ on a name badge from a distance.

His bravery throughout is humbling. We read how he dealt with hope, later to be dashed; unbelievable medical traumas – sepsis, stroke, excruciating headaches and stomach pain; the horror of finding his brain was full of tumours; his fight to get back to medical work and normality; his eventual acceptance of his fate.

Incredibly during all this, he wrote his book, which he almost finished – his mother, a publisher and poet, wrote the final chapter.

It is a journey of love, bravery, medical explanations and patient experience. I can highly recommend it.

Available at Poetryspace and on Amazon. Proceeds go to Cancer Research UK.

Splitting Sunlight, a collection of poems by his mother, Susan Sims, about Mark’s cancer from her viewpoint, will be published by Dempsey & Windle in January 2019.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co,uk

For me, the best thing about January is it is too cold and wet for me to feel I should be getting outdoors and I am able to indulge myself with a comfy armchair, a cosy blanket and a pile crime novels. Here are three great new reads for the post Christmas season.

Half Way by B.E. Jones

This starts out as a story of strangers being trapped by a snowstorm in an isolated building just before Christmas. They soon realise that there is more going on than they first thought, especially when student Lee makes a discovery in the cellar. The local PC Lissa Lloyd is struggling to make a name for herself at the police station and jumps at the chance to investigate a missing person and heads out into the snow.

So far it seems like a classic plot but then the story becomes an intriguing and claustrophobic tale of twists and turns right up to the end, where nobody is quite who you think they are. I was completely caught by surprise by the final chapter. Each chapter changes which character we are focusing on to keep us readers on our toes and gives the book great pace as well as being unsettling, in a good way.

The author is a former police press officer and crime reporter bringing her ‘true crime’ knowledge to this murky world of the psychological thriller. I do hope the policewoman is not based on anyone she knows…

Little Brown pb £8.99

Under The Ice by Rachael Blok

Jenny is an exhausted young woman struggling to cope with the demands of new motherhood, let alone coping with family demands in the run up to Christmas. Then a child is murdered and Jenny starts having visions of the night of the murder.

Her sleepwalking in the crime scene leads to involvement in the investigation and the police are getting suspicious, but could a secret from her past hold the key to the solution?

A suspenseful, gripping drama that pulls you right into the confusion in Jenny’s head, which then contrasts with the clear headed lead investigator. I felt the author really captured both the domestic upheaval a new baby can bring and the fascination of good police procedure. This was a thoroughly enjoyable debut novel and I look forward to the author’s next book. – Great jacket, too.

Head of Zeus Hb £18.99

The Body In The Boat by A.J. Mackenzie

The year is 1796 and Romney Marsh is awash with smugglers. But some of the cargo is unusual. And a few days after a birthday party, why is the body of a respectable banker found afloat, having been shot dead?

The local clergyman Reverend Hardcastle, as acting Justice of the Peace, and his widowed friend Mrs Chaytor are drawn into a twisting mystery of high finance and organised crime with international implications.

This is the third outing for the engaging amateur detectives, written by an Anglo-Canadian husband and wife team of writers and historians. As well as the main characters being just charming enough, the minor characters are also nicely draw. The historical details are laid in without too much of a heavy hand, setting the scene nicely for this pacy and enjoyable adventure. Perfect to be devoured in one setting on a wet afternoon. Maybe with a tot of rum for authenticity.

Bonnier Zaffre pb £7.99

All I need now is someone to keep me topped up with hot chocolate and leftover Christmas cake.

BLUE Chapter, Market Road, Canton, Cardiff, Wales, CF5 1QE Tuesday 5th – Saturday 16th February 2019 P

Image  courtesy of David Wilson Photography.

And every so often I find something. Washed up on the shore. Something lost. Something old. Something broken. Something in need of repair. And I’d bring it back here. I’d bring it home.

With their first foray into new writing, Chippy Lane Productions present the world premiere of BLUE – the debut play of young Welsh writer Rhys Warrington. BLUE shines a light on the current state of innumerable families across Wales, one of the most pressing issues facing the UK as vital medical and NHS services are cut. It focuses on the negative impact on those struggling to care for the vulnerable without funding.

One evening in Carmarthen, an old acquaintance comes back into the lives of the Williams family, forcing them to face their reality as a family that feels trapped, isolated, and unsupported after their recent loss. This powerful and thought-provoking play explores the concept of ‘home’, the intricacies of grief, and asks how can you grieve someone who is still alive but no longer present?

BLUE’s incredible cast features Nia Roberts (The Crown, Netflix; The White Princess, Starz; Hidden, S4C/BBC Wales, Pobol y Cwm, S4C), and Sophie Melville (Iphigenia in Splott, Sherman Theatre, National Theatre, Edinburgh, New York; Blackbird, The Other Room; The Divide, Old Vic; Low Level Panic, Young Vic; The Missing, BBC).

Joining them are Jordan Bernarde (The Sea Plays, Old Vic Tunnels; Crazy Gary’s Mobile Disco, Waking Exploits; The Passion, National Theatre Wales; Da Vinci’s Demons, Starz; The Hanged Man, BBC) and Gwydion Rhys (The Village Social, National Theatre Wales; To Kill a Machine, Scriptography; Hinterland, Hidden, BBC).

BLUE is generously funded by Arts Council Wales. The production is also supported in kind by Chapter, Dementia UK, Older People Wales, Tŷ Hapus, and David Wilson Photography.

Performance Dates Tuesday 5th – Saturday 16th February 2019 Tuesday – Saturday, 7.30pm 7th, 9th, 14th, 16th February, 2.30pm BLS performance, 12th February, 7.30pm Q&A talkback performance, 13th February, 7.30pm

Running time 1 hour 20 minutes

Age Recommendation 14+

Location Chapter, Market Road, Canton, Cardiff, Wales, UK CF5 1QE

How to get there Chapter is situated in Canton, behind Cowbridge Road East, between Llandaff Road and Market Road. Bus numbers 17 and 18 buses (Chapter Arts Centre stop) from Cardiff Central, and Chapter has its own car park.

Box Office Tickets are available priced from £14 (£12 concession) from thee box office, (0)29 2030 4400 or online at www.chapter.org/blue

Twitter @chippylaneprod, @chaptertweets, #ChippyLanesBLUE

In this crazy modern life where we lurch from high-pressure work to frantic leisure, no-pain-no-gain workouts, and don’t-forget-the-social-media-photo, we sometimes forget about that little person inside us.

Which is why we need to schedule ‘me’ appointments.  Yes, actually put them in our diary, because if we don’t, we won’t.

Mindfulness means switching off your phone, TV, Spotify etcetera, sitting comfortably and using the following simple routine.

You just need yourself for this, but Scentered Aromatherapy balms can really enhance the experience and help you focus, particularly if your brain is still in overdrive. They are 100% pure sticks of moringa mixed with shea butter, each containing up to 25 essential oils and botanicals. The first thing which hits you are the amazing smells – they are quite addictive.

Make yourself comfortable – if it’s easy, sit in lotus, but if your hips are screaming, use a floor cushion against a wall, or a firm chair. Mindfulness isn’t a competition.

Now choose the Scentered aromatherapy balm which best suits your needs – your choice includes Be Happy, De-stress, Focus, Escape and Sleep Well. Dab it on your pulse points – temples, neck and wrists – and inhale long and deep, noticing your tummy rise and fall.  Count your breath 1 in, 2 out, 3 in and so on until you reach 20.

As you focus and observe your breath, relaxation will melt through your body. Notice how you feel – really feel. Any pain? Any tension? What thoughts are coming into your head? Just notice and let them go.  Then back to your breathing.

This will take about a minute – surely you can find a minute for yourself? And if you want to make more time, your whole being will thank you.

Scentered are committed to using only the finest natural ingredients and therapeutic grade essential oils. Each balm has been tested and retested for quality.  No parabens, petrochemicals, synthetic fragrances, colours, or other nasties are used.

Visit the Scentered website for a list of their essential oils, and how they can help mind, body and spirit. The balm sticks, beautiful scented candles and gift sets can be purchased there too.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co,uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.