Louis Jadot Vineyards by Margaret Graham

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Margaret Graham

As one of the largest and most prestigious Burgundy houses, Louis Jadot owns or directly controls 115 ha in the Côte d’Or, including over 90 individual vineyard sites, 80ha in the Beaujolais Crus and 18ha in the Mâconnais primarily in Pouilly Fuissé.

Wines from these vineyards are labelled as either Domaine Louis Jadot, Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot, Domaine Gagey , Domaine Ferret or Château des Jacques.

It was Frost’s pleasure to taste:

Louis Jadot Moulin à Vent, Château des Jacques 2010

Louis Jadot purchased the Château des Jacques estate in Moulin à Vent at the end of 1996. The estate is well known as one of the most prestigious in Beaujolais and is made up of 6 different “clos” totalling 28.78 ha, which are now all vinified separately. Known as the ‘King of Beaujolais’ for its power, structure and longevity, Moulin à Vent is the most atypical of all the Beaujolais Crus. The wine has rich and succulent fruit as well as concentration, structure and elegance and really shows off the potential of well-made Cru Beaujolais.

The grapes are de-stemmed and crushed before fermentation and the wine is barrel aged to create a wine with rich and succulent Gamay fruit as well as having the concentration and structure to develop in bottle.

Good with Casseroles/Stews and Mature Strong Cheese – and I can endorse this. We enjoyed a lamb casserole which was richly complemented by the Moulin a Vent.

The wine is generous in flavour with a resonant after taste, and so smooth it slips down rather too easily. We loved it. It’s one to buy, and enjoy.

RRP £16.00, Sainsbury’s, Majestic Wine Warehouse, Whole Foods Market Camden, Fenwick Ltd, Hoults Wine Merchants, Cairns and Hickey (Wines) Ltd, Thomas Peatling, Bin Two, Andrew Hudson, Dickens House Wine Emporium Ltd, Eagle Wines, The Leamington Wine Company, Ptarmigan Media

Fantastic Christmas Ideas By Margaret Graham

Posted on November 14, 2015 by Margaret Graham

It will soon be time for putting up the tree. For a while all looks great, and then the needles begin to fall – but not any more, so what’s the answer?

Frost loves the new Lechuza self-watering planters are the perfect answer, with easy instructions. It leaves extra space for presents under the tree. A tree which still still looks luxuriant even when twelth night arrives, and it all comes to an end.

And the self-watering planters are not just for the tree, but they are easy to use for any plants, indoor and outdoor.

The Lechuza planters can be bought from http://bit.ly/_Lechuza

And for putting under the tree? What about the:

Brand new Lightweight Panasonic IPL

We at Frost like this. It’s for the busy (you can say that again,) people and is Panasonic’s new ES – Panasonic IPL Hair Removal System.

It works well for those with hectic schedules, quick, easy and thorough, and will be great for getting ready for beach holidays.

What’s more, it’s pain-free, which is always a plus and has long lasting results.

There are five intensity settings for different hair types. Someone will be really pleased with this.

www.boots.com

Bespoke Furniture.com by Margaret Graham

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Margaret Graham

A friend was practically bald, so often did I find her pulling out her hair, so I sat her down for a gin, and discussed the situation. The problem was to do with finding– no, not a person, but furniture that would fit into her life. All I could do was to pour several more gins, and suggest she tore up blotting paper instead.

If only I had known about Bespoke Furniture.com. We would still have drunk the gin, but she would have paid for it, so pleased would she have been with me. So just in case any Frost readers have a similar problem, read on. But don’t forget the gin.

How Moving into a Flat Made me Start a Furniture Business

by Adam Buchan

Nothing beats a room of one’s own and I was delighted when I moved into the flat above the pizza delivery parlour.

Next up was the thorny question of how to furnish it. I had a problem. Originally part of a bigger house, the rooms were an awkward shape and I found it impossible to find furniture that I liked and would fit in. Eventually, I ended up commissioning a kitchen dresser and dining table but they were both disappointing and badly made.

Two years later, having built the website myself, I am running a company, bespokefurniture.com, which oversees the making and delivery of just such wooden furniture, including kitchen dressers, larder units, wardrobes, chest of drawers, and tables.

Description: Welsh Triple Dresser, Glass Door Top

Its aim is simple: to provide high-quality made-to-measure furniture from the best British workshops. All of our furniture is handmade to order, so customers can specify their exact dimensions, paint colour, timber and handles.

It took me eighteen months (much longer than anticipated) to find the right workshops, during which time I travelled the length of the country. There were a lot of individual craftsmen that were not geared up for regular orders but eventually I found the right partners, based in Staffordshire and Yorkshire.

After much deliberation over the blueprints for each piece of furniture, I launched the company, unleashed an on-line marketing campaign and held my breath. It took a week for the first order to come through… but then another soon after. I haven’t looked back since then, sales have been climbing month after month.

Description: Double Wardrobe, Four Drawer

I have learnt an enormous amount. Quality control has to be maintained at all times, and takes a lot of care and patience. Couriers can be unpredictable. Customers can change their mind. But all of these issues are part of any retail business. My original conviction was that if we could deliver excellent quality, affordable furniture within a reasonable timeframe, then there is a really significant market to be tapped – and this is definitely proving to be the case.

https://www.bespokefurniture.com/

A Triumphant Production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Baron’s Court Theatre

3rd Nov – 22nd Nov, 2015

7:30pm (Two and half hours)

A Doll’s House, written by Henrick Ibsen, was first performed in 1879, and today the same discussions are still whirling about: the right of individuals to discover themselves, presumably at whatever the cost to others, especially the children.

This complex and multi layered play, and its premise, has always vexed me. Would the New Dreams Theatre Company’s production stir my depths again?

Oh yes, indeed. Dick and I not only had the great pleasure of seeing this controversial but popular play passionately performed at Baron’s Court Theatre, but argued all the way home about just these ‘rights’.

Paul Vates (Torvald Helmer) has been writing in Frost Magazine over the last few months, highlighting the processes involved in putting on a stage play. It was good, therefore, to join the audience in the intimate theatre below The Curtains Up pub on 10^th November. Good, but slightly nerve wracking – would it work, would it move me, make me laugh, make me cross, make me re-join the argument?

Kevin Russell’s production of Bryony Lavery’s pared adaptation is confident and modern, but nonetheless steeped in the essence of the period. Ibsen writes of lives lived behind closed doors, and I believe he hints at the accommodations needed in order to hold everything together, though others see only the ‘rights’ within the play.

A Doll’s House touches on many things, fraud, debt, loneliness, unrequited love, death, the roles people play, the responsibility borne by bread winners, the sense of patronising male ownership of wife and children, and ultimately, the choice made by Nora to pursue her happiness and personal development whatever the cost. This attitude has never sat well with me, and never will.

The pace was crisp, the set utilized, Nora (Alexa Matthews) is compelling, beautiful and frenetic, Torvald (Paul Vates) a cypher of the age, and is as emotionally repressed as Nora, conforming to the norms of society and business as he does.

Just as circumstances strip Nora of her ability to role-play as a doll within a doll’s house, so too, they strip Torvald of his role as perceived by society. Vates’ confusion and desperation reveals a humanity that moved me, brought me to tears, in fact, and more than balanced Nora’s implacable decision to strive to find herself, to grasp her ‘rights’ heedless of the contextual responsibilities.

The whole production is thoughtful, subtle, and all the players more than fulfilled their roles: Julia Florimo as Mrs Linde is a good foil to Nora, as she exposes her controlling personality to bring about all that she wants. Ramzi Dehani’s Krogstad is ready to wreak his revenge, and is taken by surprise at the happy harbour into which he is being led by Ms Linde, by the nose one thinks. Brian Merry’s Dr Rank is painful and lost in love for Nora, but determined to wrest control back and terminate his illness at a time of his choosing.

I thought Nora’s interior monologue worked well, and the brief by-play with the maid Helene, was supposed to reassure us that as she’d brought up Nora, she would bring up the three children and all would be well. Tosh.

I loved it. A bravura production. It is with me still. And let me tell you, Dick was engrossed throughout and he so often isn’t.

Don’t miss it, grab the chance while you can.

A Doll’s House (Bryony Lavery)

Baron’s Court Theatre, (below The Curtains Up pub)

3rd Nov – 22nd Nov, 2015

7:30pm

PRODUCTION TEAM

Set designer: Katie Unsworth Murrey. Lighting design: Harry Amatage, Sound Design: Ben Cowen.

New Dreams Theatre

Wartski – The First 150 Years by Geoffrey Munn Review by Tracy Baines

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Margaret Graham

The book is available by ACC, but also at the V&A, where Wartski are sponsoring the jewellery exhibition opening at the end of November.

Whether you have a passion for jewellery or not this book is a fascinating insight into one of the most famous jewellers in the world today. It was the Wartski goldsmith’s who made Catherine Middleton’s wedding ring for her marriage to the Duke of Cambridge.

Finely researched and containing immense detail this book is written by Wartski Managing Director and Antiques Roadshow expert Geoffrey Munn, who started at the firm in 1972 after answering an advert for an assistant in The Daily Telegraph.

This unique family business, centring on a small shop in the West End of London, is famous for its association with masterpieces of goldsmith’s work, antique jewellery and most especially those of Carl Fabergé.

The book is full of beautiful photographs and illustrations not just of jewellery and objets d’art but of the great and the good who visited the store over the years. Every page has something to delight the eye whether that be necklaces, Fabergé eggs or movie stars from a bygone age.

Morris Wartski, a Polish émigré and multilingual extrovert, came to North Wales and due to a chance meeting with the Marquess of Anglesey was able to open his first retail shop in Bangnor in 1895

What follows is a testament to hard work, ingenuity and salesmanship. It’s a story of chance meetings, philanthropy and business acumen that has set firmly in place the foundations for Wartski’s longevity. The book is worth reading for this chapter alone – I found it absolutely riveting. A true tale of rags to riches.

What follows is not just about the jewels but the people who bought and collected them. There is everything a good blockbuster needs – tenacity, intrigue, the fabulously rich and the weirdly eccentric. I found it hugely enjoyable and interesting but winced a bit at the hefty price tag. However, a fabulous book for the coffee table and a delight for those interested in the finer things in life.
“Wartski – The First 150 years” is not only the history of a firm but also the biography of a
scintillating society. It gives the reader new insight into the jewellery trade, the fascination of
collecting and the lives of the rich and famous. The lavishly illustrated text opens a window on to
an otherwise private world.

Christmas PLAYMOBIL Advent Calendars to Warm the Heart of Any Child

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Margaret Graham

PLAY 8947 1 #

Forget chocolates, children can open the doors on this PLAYMOBIL advent calendar and find toys to stimulate their creativity, but not just that, these they can keep, whereas chocolate is gone in a few melting seconds.

Frost loved it, because there are a variety of scenes: a wintry woodland, or festive family Christmas, or what about giving our little heroes a chance to fight fiery infernos?

Healthy and fun. What’s not to like?

Find out more at http/bit.ly/PLAYMOBIL

A day in the life of Fiona Joseph (Author and Speaker)

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Margaret Graham

I wake between 6 and 6.30 AM. My partner Peter brings me an early morning cup of tea and then it’s all systems go: helping our younger daughter get ready for school (Have you had breakfast? Brushed your teeth? Where’s your PE kit? What do you mean you’ve got cookery today?) or waving our elder daughter off to a university lecture. I’m one of those mums who stand waving on the doorstep until my children have disappeared from sight.

8.15 to 12.15 PM

Ideally I’m at my desk for 8 AM. My most productive time for writing is early in the morning.

My office is in a room upstairs at home and I do the majority of my writing on an iMac. I switch between different software depending on what I’m writing: Pages and Storyist for writing prose fiction and non-fiction, and Final Draft for screenwriting. (I’m currently writing a dramatisation of my biography of Beatrice Cadbury and Final Draft is the industry standard.)

Writing a screenplay for the life of Beatrice Cadbury.

At about 10 AM I’m ready for a break, a cuppa and a catch-up chat with Peter, who works downstairs in the dining room. Sometimes we’ll do our unofficial ‘meeting’ in our local Costa. And then it’s back to our work domains for both of us until lunch.

If I fancy a change of writing scene I go to my local church where I have an arrangement to use one of their meeting rooms. I take a portable word-processing device with me – my AlphaSmart NEO – along with a flask of tea and a blanket to avoid chills.

12.15 – 1.15 PM

Lunchtime is my favourite part of the working day. At about 12.15 PM our dog Bonnie butts her nose against the stair-gate to tell me it’s time for her walk. (She has three walks a day – talk about spoiled) Exercise is vital for both of us. The walk takes about 20-25 minutes, sometimes longer if we stop for a chat with doggy friends and their owners. Bonnie was a rescue dog, and sadly ill-treated, so she needs oodles of love and patience. We live in a leafy suburb of Birmingham but holiday a lot in Weymouth, and this picture shows Bonnie happily at the seaside.

On our walk I daydream, or listen to music or a BAFTA GURU screenwriting podcast on my wireless headphones. Lunch will be quick, such as a sandwich or soup, or in summer months, some sautéed courgettes or roasted beetroot from our allotment.

1.15 to 4 PM

I like to be back at my desk for 1.15 PM. My afternoon can be made up of any of the following activities:

more writing or editing
working on my website
archive research
replying to emails, e.g. invitations to speak
going out to give a talk to a group
speaking on the phone with my biographee, Godric Bader, the subject of my current work-in-progress
visiting my local primary school where I’m privileged to be a community governor

Sometimes my research will take me into town to the Library of Birmingham or to the Bournville Archives. For my latest novel, Comforts For The Troops, I wove true facts and details of the Cadbury workplace into the story.

Visiting the Bournville Archives to research Cadbury women workers.

4 to 7 PM

This period is break-time and family time. Peter or I prepare dinner. I’m very strict on home-cooked food and eating round the dinner table. It’s the time of the day when we can share news, air grievances(!) and generally have a laugh. Mobiles are banned. If one of us has had a particularly noteworthy day I’ll serve dinner on the Plate of Accomplishment. We occasionally play cards afterwards – 10 card rummy, Old Maid and Sevens are old favourites.

7 to 10 PM

Sometimes I’ll be out giving a talk at a local society like the WI, the U3A , a local history group or a book group. It’s very satisfying to talk about the research and themes underlying my Cadbury books and I really enjoy chatting with people over a cup of tea afterwards.

If I’m at home I’ll flake out with some telly. I’m an ardent fan of Corrie and Holby City and I enjoy a good UK drama, preferably nothing with violence in it though. By 10 o’clock I’m fit to drop, but if necessary I’ll do an hour’s more writing before bed!

Fiona Joseph is the author of the acclaimed biography, ‘BEATRICE The Cadbury Heiress Who Gave Away Her Fortune’, and a novel inspired by women working at Cadbury in World War One, ‘Comforts For The Troops’. For more details visit www.fionajoseph.com

Nightingales Under the Mistletoe by Donna Douglas Reviewed: Tracy Baines

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Margaret Graham

Christmas 1941 and the nurses at the Nightingale are facing their toughest winter yet.

With shortages everywhere, and every news bulletin announcing more defeats and losses, the British people are weary and demoralised and The Nightgale Hospital is suffering too.Millie is recently widowed and dealing with the demands of her family’s estate. It’s not long before her old world of The Nightingale begins to beckon, along with a long lost love…

Jess is struggling with her move from East London to the quiet of the countryside.Effie finds herself exiled to a quiet village, but the quiet doesn’t last for long as she soon finds excitement in the shape of a smooth talking GI. As Christmas approaches, even the shelter of the countryside can’t protect the girls from heartache.

This is the first book I’ve read about the nurses at the Nightingale Hospital and it won’t be the last. Even though I came new to the series (this is book seven) it was easy to read as a stand alone and was at no point confusing.

It was a perfect winter read as I sat in front of a roaring fire, mug of tea and a box of choccies to hand. I was soon deep in the world of nurses and country living. The characters are likeable and realistic and the author strikes a perfect balance between the hard, grudging work that nurses do and the camaraderie that comes from pulling together. It doesn’t shy away from the awfulness of war but deals with it in a way that’s informative without being too upsetting and certainly made me wonder at the bravery of people during those trying times. That said there is humour and warmth on every page.

An absolutely perfect read for those who love Call the Midwife.

To be published 11^th November by Cornerstone Publishing

Frost Magazine

Books and Lifestyle

Author Archives: Margaret Graham

Louis Jadot Vineyards by Margaret Graham

Fantastic Christmas Ideas By Margaret Graham

Bespoke Furniture.com by Margaret Graham

A Triumphant Production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House

Wartski – The First 150 Years by Geoffrey Munn Review by Tracy Baines

Christmas PLAYMOBIL Advent Calendars to Warm the Heart of Any Child

A day in the life of Fiona Joseph (Author and Speaker)

Nightingales Under the Mistletoe by Donna Douglas Reviewed: Tracy Baines