Alex’s yoga retreat on Koh Yao Noi becomes more than just a welcome break from solo parenting.

When Mr P suggested he would return for the first week of the Songkran school holidays and I should take some time off from holding the fort I have to say it took all of about 10 seconds to agree. A quick search on bookyogaretreats.com identified several options in Thailand. After reading the reviews, looking at locations and prices, yoga styles, classes, workshops, accommodation, I settled on Island Yoga in Koh Yao Noi.

Island Yoga nestles just off the beach amongst the mangroves and is a, relaxed, serene venue. The sunrises on the beach and you can enjoy a 45min tai chi moving meditation before the morning yoga session. The cicadas dawn chorus is deafening and vibrant and ensures you won’t miss the freshly brewed coffee prepared to accompany the sunrise if tai chi doesn’t appeal. I did the class several times and it is truly a beautiful way to start the day. It is amazing how you can really feel the energy, the chi, in the palms of your hands. It was my first experience of tai chi and I feel inspired to explore more back in Bangkok.

The morning yoga class is two hours of flow vinyasa style yoga but it begins with meditation and pranayama, breathing work, so it is not two hours of pure asana work and there was not too much focus on sun salutations.. My first morning class began with moving and shaking and dancing round the room to get the body moving

The yoga throughout the six days I was there was pitched perfectly: not too strenuous, not to easy, just the right amount of stretch physically, mentally and spiritually. The teachers are all young and incredibly knowledgeable and I learnt lots of different things that I look forward to putting into my own practice and even exploring with my own clients.

I was there for the Pink Full Moon, the Spring full moon and that day both sessions worked on channelling the energy of the moon. Given that the moon can move oceans and that our bodies are 70% water, it makes sense that the full moon can dramatically impact our own bodies. It can leave you feeling unbalanced, energised or out of sorts. Since this particular full moon was especially powerful combining the spring full moon with a number of planets in alignment, creativity and new beginnings were ripe for harnessing.

The late afternoon sessions are more gentle yin style classes where, similar to restorative yoga, poses are held for several minutes to open up fascias, encouraging healing and improved movement. On arrival you will generally begin the retreat with this class and it is a perfect introduction. All classes finish with savasana which is the most important pose of any yoga class and a time for blissful serenity.

The resort is owned by a local lady Khun Ning who runs the restaurant that offers a buffet style breakfast straight after the morning class and other Thai dishes from lunchtime onwards which are both delicious and reasonably priced. David who heads up the yoga side of things saw the potential in the 3 hut resort 8 years ago and after six months of climbing, tai chi and yoga on the island never went home. The resort can now support 55 guests with 2 salas for yoga practice. In high season groups are split into beginner and intermediate to advanced. He has plans to open next high season with a third state of the art 180m yoga hall, three therapy/treatment rooms,  a meditation hall and a sound healing chamber with many of the existing team returning to teach. By high season 2018 there will be additional accommodation.

If you need more between the classes than just relaxing by the pool, there is enough nearby within walking distance to entertain:  Arita massage has some wonderful treatments; Bay View restaurant offers spectacular views of the bay and yet more delicious Thai food, their Panang curry is especially good; La Luna, 500 m, away offers the best pizza I have tasted in Thailand, wine and a lovely vibe; Chaba, around a km’s walk or bike ride away, offers real coffee, an amazing gluten free chocolate cake (which essentially makes it free of calories, right?) and organic delights.

This was my first yoga retreat and I can honestly say I absolutely loved it and really hope to return, depending of course what the universe has in store for us I would really recommend a yoga retreat and in my limited experience Island Yoga offers a completely authentic, beautiful opportunity to immerse yourself in yoga, serenity, peace and calm in surroundings that are rare to find the days in Thailand.

Island Yoga closes in May and September.

Images courtesy of www.renesolari.com

Well, here we are, in the midst of a fantastic summer. Gorgeous but drying sun, which makes hair feel like straw, much as we love blue skies…

It might be an idea to consider Aldo Coppola who use natural and organic products and treatments for hair and beauty. All their products are organic, natural and vegan friendly.

Aldo Coppola is Italy’s No. 1 premium haircare brand so they should know all about sun on the skin and hair and using natural products appeals. Aldo Coppola has 120 salons worldwide and have collaborated with some of the biggest fashion houses including Valentino and Christian Dior as well as working with some elite super models such as Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.

At Frost magazine we’ve had a look at a hand-picked selection from Aldo Coppola Aquamare range and beauty treatments from their collaboration with CELLCOSMET.

AQUAMARE

AFTER SUN SHAMPOO FOR DAILY CLEANSING

Nourishing after sun creamy shampoo restores moisture, keeping the hair soft, full of body and easy to comb. Daily use helps to prevent dryness caused by exposure to sun, wind, salt and chlorine. Perfect on coloured hair. After shampooing, complete the treatment with Aquamare after sun Milk or Mask.

Aldo Coppola Aquamare Shampoo – £26

PROTECTIVE DRY OIL FOR PROTECTION & NOURISHMENT

This appeals – having just had surgery for a broken shoulder my hair is suitable for a haystack and not much else, and that’s without any sun drying it further.

Sun care hair oil, protects against harmful sunrays, wind, salt and chlorine with a total UVB/B shielding action. The dry non-greasy texture protects and nourishes the hair fibres deeply. Maintains the correction hydration level, preventing early aging and gives the hair body, softness and sine. Protects colour brightness. Spray on dry or wet hair before sun exposure and repeat the application during the day, including the sensitised areas.

Aldo Coppola Aquamare Dry Oil – £29

AFTER SUN MASK FOR INTENSE NOURISHING

One to take for those beach holidays.

After sun treatment formulated to hydrate and deeply nourish hair exposed to sun, wind, salt and chlorine. This mask combines intense soothing shine-enhancing to protective restructuring action, suitable on all hair types and especially recommended on coloured hair. The rich content of minerals, oligo elements and vitamins in the brown algae extract prevent early aging of the hair fibres. Apply after shampooing and rinse with care.

Aldo Coppola Aquamare Mask – £29

There you go, all sorted for summer.

Milly Adams latest book At Long Last Love published in paperback by Arrow is out now.

In Bangkok, it is hard not to notice tailors on almost every corner especially in Asok. Before I even arrived in Bangkok and having travelled in Asia previously, I knew getting copies of clothes tailor-made made was affordable and realistic. However, like all good plans they got de-railed by life.

Then one day a friend asked me if I was interested in getting some clothes made and the seed was sown once more. I messaged a Bangkok mummies group on Facebook, which turns out to be an amazingly fruitful source of top tips and recommendations and several names came up and we decided Benjama’s in Asok was our tailor of choice.

First though we needed fabric. We headed off to Chinatown or more specifically Little India in Chinatown and after an assortment of taxi’s, tuk tuk’s and sky trains, finally arrived at the Indian Emporium a large undercover fabric market spanning 4-5 floors. What a relief: fans and air conditioning.

The first stall had the kind of light-weight cottony-linen fabric I was looking for in the kind of neutral or muddy colours tones I was looking for. At 100bht/m I was sold, so was Meg who chose a couple of colour ways too.

For good measure we continued our search and went to the next floor. Yet more lightweight cottons and linens in yet more colourations and this time only 50 bht/m, d’oh fatal school girl error: we had bought before checking out prices. Kicking ourselves and our naivety and striking up much more rapport with this guy than the moody fellow downstairs, we bought yet more fabric and then wondered how we were going to carry it all home via tuk tuk’s, taxi’s and sky trains, especially since Meg was flagging a little being pregnant and all.

We vowed to return to make the most of the colourful array of fabrics and materials at the first chance we had to create dressing up costumes for the kids.

So we were set to go and headed the following week to Benjamin’s and wandered into a small shop where two seamstresses were hard at work, boxes of cotton reels and material creatively strewn around in organized chaos. I knew exactly what I wanted copied and in what fabrics so I was pretty much done and dusted in 20 minutes or so.

Meg, expecting her 4^th baby was unsure of what styles she wanted and by this time Khun Pook who owns the shop joined us and advised us she was a designer too. Ahhh fatal school girl error number two: I should have asked. But I was in danger of re-railing from the original plan so I stuck with my decisions while she and Meg came up with some bespoke ideas to get her through her blossoming bump.

Khun Pook can literally make anything from ball gowns to men’s shirts and needs only a photo to go by. When we returned only 10 days later most of the pieces were ready and I was delighted with the results and have worn the pieces almost every week, allowing me to preserve the originals for either special occasions or at least not to wear them out completely. 3 pairs of trousers, 4 pairs of shorts and 2 dresses / culottes cost just over £200. But the experience was priceless.

A month or so later, Meg introduced me to Glen an Australian footwear designer who ran his own footwear business from a little hole in the wall shop front in Udom Suk, not far from where we lived. I have a beloved pair of off the peg sandals I had bought a few years previously from Mango or some other high street fashion store and was I was literally wearing these bad boys to death. I badly wanted them copied. Glen agreed to do so for me.

We then discussed Meg holding footwear parties on his behalf to sell his off the shelf shoes and within a couple of weeks we were hosting just one of these parties at my house with the girls from our moobaan. A couple of boxes of shoes had arrived which we laid out as aesthetically as possible, cracked open the fizz and invited the ladies in.

One friend came with a specific style in mind to be copied into several different colours whilst others tried on what was available. I happened upon a pair of snakeskin heels with bright mustard soles, which had my name all over them. They fit like a glove and are the most comfortable heels I own. At less than £70, not technically a bargain but also did seriously not break the bank either. The afternoon was a success, some shoes were sold, some replicas commissioned and we were well on the way to our very own bespoke head to quite literally toe wardrobe.

My sandals never returned to me until after the summer holidays and I had almost given up on them if I am honest. When they did arrive accompanied by the originals, from which I thought I would never part, I realized just what a sorry state of affairs they had become. A little bit mouldy and very much distressed after spending most of the rainy season in a shoe makers workshop they made their replacements looked so spectacular I instantly dispatched them to the bin. For less than the original sandals, they are worth their weight in gold and are still going strong despite almost daily excursions.

So, the whole top to toe tailoring experience turned out pretty well. Not only fun but some stylish pieces secured at some really reasonable prices and an experience worth writing home about.

“where Ayckbourn’s middle-class angst smashes up against 21st Century issues”

I rarely give a standing ovation – call me hard-hearted, but most of the time I can simply admire performers doing their job really well by clapping very loudly.

Jon Brittain’s Rotterdam, however, grabbed me. I laughed through the tears as the four characters made war and peace, hated and loved and produced some of the best roaring arguments I have seen on stage in a long time. Many people are raving about the play’s approach to LGBTQIA+ issues. Yet, although some of those strains are what drives the plot, I think it goes beyond that. The play is about everyone: our very identity is in question and how we and our loved ones deal with who we actually are and what we actually want.

[Alice McCarthy and Anna Martine Freeman]

The play centres around the lesbian couple Alice and Fiona living in Rotterdam, played to sublime perfection by Alice McCarthy and Anna Martine Freeman respectively. Alice is trying to find the confidence to come out to her ‘very English’ parents back home. Keeping the secret is stifling her on all levels, but unknown to her, Fiona has a bigger secret.

Ed Bales-White plays a wonderful Josh. Josh is Alice’s ex-boyfriend and still hangs around, even after seven years since they split up, because, of course, he still lives her.

[Ed Bales-White and Alice McCarthy]

The love-triangle is confused further by the presence of Lelani, a local lesbian full of life but desperately lonely, played just on the right side of crazy by Ellie Morris.

This piece premiered in October 2015 at Theatre 503, before transferring to Trafalgar Studios. Then it won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre. Earlier this year a brief run off-Broadway followed. Now it’s back, feeling caged-in at The Arts Theatre, trapping the characters inside their world, an ingenious colourful box of primary Pride colours, superbly designed by Ellan Parry. Aided and abetted by the pumping Euro-Pop beats designed by Keegan Curran.

[Ellie Morris and Alice McCarthy]

Donnacadh O’Briain’s direction has the actors pushing the boundaries of comedy and tragedy. The theatrical mask with its two emotionally opposing faces was designed for plays like this. It’s where Ayckbourn’s middle-class angst smashes up against 21st Century issues.

A must-see play.

Production Photographs are by Hunter Canning

Performances until  Saturday 15th July 2017

Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm

Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm

Running time:          2 hours (plus an interval)

Twitter:                     @ArtsTheatreLDN, @RotterdamPlay, @hartshorhook

Producer:                 Louis Hartshorn and Brian Hook, Hartshorn-Hook Productions

Location:                  Arts Theatre, 6-7 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JB

www.artstheatrewestend.co.uk

Box Office:               Tickets are available from £15-£55 from the Arts Theatre Box

Office and www.artstheatrewestend.co.uk

Or by calling 020 7836 8463

Notes:                      Age recommendation of 14+

Like most writers I have a real-life job that makes most of my ‘days in the life’ pretty dull to read about! And even on weekends writing is squeezed in amongst the multitudes of other time-chomping tasks. But very, very occasionally I get a few days in a stretch where I can sort-of focus on writing. So I’ve cheated and I’m going to tell you about a ‘week in the life of’. Specifically, the week in which I wrote, illustrated and published ‘Little Hoglet’s Egg Race’, which won second prize in the children’s picture book section of this year’s Words For The Wounded.

As I also write novels (‘Wyrm Gold’ was Highly Commended in this year’s Words for the Wounded) which take a year plus to write, it’s great to have a much smaller scale project to work on. The ‘Little Hoglet’ books have a much quicker turnaround because the time required (if not the mental effort!) to write them is much less.

Having already published ‘Little Hoglet’s Christmas’, and written and sketched out ‘Little Hoglet’s Bonfire Night’ (yet to be published), I already had a few ideas about a Spring story for Little Hoglet (I planned one story for each of the four seasons).

On the Saturday afternoon I sat down for a few hours and played with a few ideas. What did I want to see in a Spring story? What amazing things did I want to introduce children to? Spring, of course, means eggs, and a story naturally came about where Little Hoglet was looking for friends to play with and met a succession of birds and their eggs. And whilst sketching a couple of scenes, a couple of eggs developed legs, and the EGGS WITH LEGS! concept found its way into the story.

A simple beginning, but it took a few hours to pin down the specifics of who Little Hoglet would meet on his journey (the last egg layer is a butterfly, for example, as a little surprise after all the birds), and how the story would end. Happily, of course, but how? It’s really fun to come up with the answers.

On Sunday I sketched out the scenes very roughly and tidied up the text so I had a solid foundation to work from. Children’s writing is very much like writing poetry – minimum words with maximum impact.

Monday to Thursday I drew the illustrations in pencil, which gives a lovely soft children’s book feel. This is also a fun part of the process.

Friday I scanned in all the pencil drawings into the computer and added colour.

Saturday I formatted the book ready for publication, and then in the evening submitted it to Createspace (Amazon’s publishing platform). This part is less fun but not as unfun as you might expect.

Sunday I made corrections, checked the online proof, and resubmitted. In the evening the submission was accepted and I pressed the button to make the book live. Within an hour or so I was then able to go onto Amazon and order a copy which arrived a couple of days later!

But was is it any good…? Well the Words for the Wounded prize certainly helps. As do the ten 5 star reviews on Amazon, along with comments like: “What a gorgeous little hoglet, having fun and making friends, beautifully illustrated, “a lovely little tale”, “fun for both my 2 and a half year old to be read and also my 5 year old who can read it aloud himself”, “the story builds to a conclusion that will warm the heart and keep you wanting more from the next one.”

Ok, so that’s encouraging. I’d better find some time to start ‘Little Hoglet’s Summer Holiday’!

Richard Middleton’s books can be obtained from Amazon.co.uk in paperback and e-book.

www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk

I’m lucky enough to have an  adjustable VariDesk which enables me to STAND or sit, with a flick of a lever and is a total boon to anyone desk bound for much of the day as I am. It saves that wretched neck and back ache which quite frankly made little Miss Sunshine pass under a cloud, not that my family call me anything approaching anything sunny – far from it.

I work not only as a contributor to Frost Magazine, but also an author and am heavily involved with a charity, www.wordsforthewounded.co.uk  and therefore I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time sitting as well as standing at my, desk and my fitness is suffering, not to mention my rear end, and my legs. A seat that adjust to match the Varidesk would be my dream, or so I was thinking as I put the WforW LitFest to bed for another year, and embarked on the second in the series of The Waterway Girls for Arrow.

In the nick of time I’ve been sent a Varichair to test drive. Honestly, it’s a complete boon.

It solves all my problems, so no more clouds in my life.

Designed to engage leg, back and core muscles, the VARIChair really does give me the freedom to move throughout my day, letting me stay active while seated or leaning. As I have recently broken my shoulder, my exercise is anyway reduced so it really is brilliant. The durable, cushioned seat and articulating pedestal offer a wide range of motion, so you can rock or stretch while sitting. The air-lift piston also raises the seat up to 32.75” (83.19 cm), allowing you to lean comfortably when standing.

Featuring a low back design that encourages good posture, it also has a weighted base, so it stays put while you do the moving. Like other VARIDESK products, the VARIChair comes fully assembled. Simply remove it from the box and you’re ready to go.

I can’t bear having things I have to put together, because it takes ages and never quite fits together.

A really good buy. Use it, get fit while you work. You’ll find you don’t actually NEED that beer or wine at the end of the day but you’ll still have it, of course you will.

The Varichair  at £250 is worth every penny, as is the Pro Plus 36  Varidesk at £365.

www.varidesk.com

I have a passion for coffee, and I like to use beans…

My current favourite is Lazy Sunday by Taylors of Harrogate but oh lordy… my local supermarket only had ground which I tend not to buy because I find it loses flavour in no time, whereas beans last longer, but then I’m a fussy old duck.

Add to that the fact that I tripped when rushing to make myself a coffee recently, caught my foot in the handles of  a bag of books sprawled on the floor, ready for a talk I was to do. I crashed   into the arch between kitchen and dining room, and found myself sprawled alongside the books.

One operation later, my shoulder suitably screwed and plated, I was home and  desperate for a coffee, but still the report came back that all that was available was ground Lazy Sunday – arghhhh.

In the nick of time Frost Magazine was sent the CoffeeGator Coffee Canister. I confess I was a doubting Thomas because I’ve tried this game before, even putting the canister into the fridge, or the freezer which is supposed to help with freshness and flavour – all to no avail.

So, dear readers, in desperation I sent ‘him indoors’ to buy the ground coffee, and tipped it into the very smart looking stainless steel CoffeeGator canister. Two weeks later my Lazy Sunday has just the same fresh flavour – the convalescence has been saved, and it doesn’t ‘alf perk up the physio sessions too.

So,  what’s so good about this canister?

Apparently coffee beans naturally emit CO2 and this is the enemy when storing coffee. This canister has a one-way valve which allows Co2 to leave but stops air and light from entering and attacking flavour.

The canister has a wheel on the lid to track the expiry date of the coffee to guard against staleness. There is an e-book and a  scoop to measure out the coffee, though I like mine strong so it’s a scoop and a bit.

A good looking product which does what it’s meant to. I find that as refreshing in  these days of hyperbole  as a good coffee quite frankly.

Coffee Gator seems to take its job seriously and has many impressive coffee tools on sale. Have a look:

www. coffeegator.com

Kai Williams, Centre Director at Explore Learning Barking, David Williams and Steve Backshall

A 12 year old from Barking has been crowned the winner of the National Young Writers’ Awards!  David Williams’ story about a robot in 3017 triumphed over 10,000 entries from all across the UK. Author, TV presenter and adventurer, Steve Backshall surprised David with his prize at his school to mark the tremendous achievement. The special presentation assembly took place on Tuesday 20th June at All Saints Catholic School in Dagenham.

The annual competition is organised by tuition provider, Explore Learning and this year’s theme was ‘The Future’. Children were tasked with writing a 500 word story set in 3017!  Entries were judged by Steve Backshall and the team at Explore Learning who selected David’s futuristic tale as the overall winning story and awarded him a trophy, a trip to Disneyland Paris for his family and £500 worth of books for his school.

Robots were overwhelmingly the most popular characters in this year’s entries, whilst teleportation, rockets and jets were the common modes of transport. Meanwhile, planet earth was the most popular location, followed by the Moon and Mars.

It was David’s story though that came out on top – a tale of a robot who wants to be accepted by the world and explore.

Steve Backshall says: “The quality of the stories was beyond belief! If I didn’t know this was a competition for young writers, I’d believe I was reading the scribblings of Isaac Asimov or Philip K Dick, every story was original and had its own sense of individuality. What astounded me more than anything was that these young people had not only imagined future worlds, but imbued them with the conundrums of our modern planet; pollution, greed, climate-change, the disturbing dark potential of Ai and genetic modification. It gives me great hope that our young people are aware and concerned about these critical issues, and writing with such extraordinary maturity.

“I had to choose the piece that stood out as the most publishable. David’s tale of the awakening of consciousness in a sentient robot was the most complete of all…”

Winner, David Williams says: “I feel so happy. Winning the National Young Writers’ Awards is one of the things that’ll help me prepare to be an author. I can’t believe I have accomplished it, I’ve written something worth reading!”

Every child that entered the National Young Writers’ Award received a certificate to celebrate their story, along with personalised feedback from Explore Learning.  The top ten runners up also won an engraved pen from National Stationery Week sponsors, Sheaffer, whilst all regional winners received prize bundles with goodies from National Stationery Week partners, Nu notebooks, Mustard, edding, Maped Helix, Write Size, Manuscript and Stabilo.

Carey Ann Dodah, Head of Curriculum Development at Explore Learning says: “This year’s National Young Writers’ Awards attracted so many entries and all were thoughtful and inventive…”

Clare Cantle, Head Teacher at All Saints Catholic School says: “We are all incredibly proud of David’s outstanding achievement. To win a competition with 10,000 entries is such a fantastic recognition of his talents in writing. I am sure we will be reading much more of his work in the future.”

Explore Learning has 126 centres located across the country providing English and maths tuition to children aged five to 14.

For more information on Explore Learning and the National Young Writers’ Awards please visit www.explorelearning.co.uk/youngwriters