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As always, we've curated a collection of great reading by our team of wonderful writers as well as beautifully presented advertising by Bristol's best businesses. We hope you'll enjoy this month's magazine.

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There are sandwiches and then there are lobster rolls... and come matchday, they are a little bit special. 

Pre-cooked lobster is a divine meat to mix with a creamy, piquant mayonnaise-based sauce, heaped and spooned into warm, freshly toasted brioche rolls. There are so many variations – feel free to experiment as much as you like – but the golden rule is do not scrimp on the shrimp! Every mouthful should be mainly lobster – it’s decadent and you’ll be glad you went for it.

Ingredients (makes four rolls)
Pre-cooked lobster chilled and ready to eat – around 350g.
1 brioche loaf for slicing or 4 large brioche buns
1 lemon (for juice and zest)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (optional)
3 heaped tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon finely minced parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives plus 1 tablespoon of coarsely chopped chives 
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Half teaspoon lemon zest
Splash of sweet chilli sauce or pinch of paprika (optional)
Half teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Half teaspoon of sea salt
Half a stick of celery finely sliced
2 inches of cucumber chopped into small cubes – no need to de-seed as the extra moisture is good
3 tablespoons butter
Rocket or a good leaf salad mix

Method
Crack open the lobster – don’t be shy. Try using a rolling pin. Separate the claws and tail by twisting and snapping from the body. Split the claw open and pull out the meat. With a sharp knife or scissors, cut along under the tail lengthwise, scoop out the the meat and coarsely chop. There is a digestive tract/vein that should not be eaten – you’ll know it when you see it – just cut it at the top and lift it out with a knife.

If you need a little confidence, there are plenty of websites. Here’s a goodie: lobsteranywhere.com

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sliced celery, cubed cucumber, garlic, ginger, parsley, finely chopped chives, lemon juice and lemon zest, pepper and dash of sweet chilli sauce or paprika.

Gently fold in the chopped lobster.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter. Place thickly cut slices of brioche (or split brioche buns) in the skillet and toast each side until golden brown and lightly charred – about a minute per side.

Load a slice of warm brioche with a few leaves of salad or rocket then pile on the lobster mix, garnish with chives. top with another slice of brioche and plate up.

Serve with fries, the rest of the leaf salad, and a good fizz – anything from a tangy chilled cider all the way up to an ice-cold vintage champagne.

Eat, drink, enjoy the game (responsibly), and save the pizza for the Italy match.

Here are five French greats; just a few from an edited selection by the Great Wine Co that celebrates the best of French wine.

Pigmentum Malbec, Cahors – Georges Vigouroux

Beneath a bouquet of summer flowers, a rich red Malbec emits flavours of raspberry, blackcurrant and blackberry, held together by firm, defined tannins. £11.10.

Côtes de Provence Cru Classé – Château Sainte Marguerite

A really stylish, fully organic Provence rosé with a bouquet of juicy strawberries and raspberries with just-picked freshness. This fresh fruit character is also evident on the palate, alongside delicate yet satisfyingly creamy texture. £16.60.

Péssac-Léognan – Château Valoux

Pale lemon in colour with bundles of fruit and flowers on the nose. Medium-bodied with citrus, green fruit, apricots and white flower characteristics with lovely creamy undertones. A complex wine with a long finish to go with or without food. Château Valoux is an old wine estate in Pessac-Léognan owned and run by Sophie Lurton of Chateau Bouscaut. Chateau Valoux has just 10 hectares of vines on one plot with mainly clay, gravel and limestone soils. The estate has always produced superb Semillon dominant wines, which are made in the cellars of Grand-Cru Chateau Bouscaut. £18.85.

Pouilly-Fumé 'La Vigne de Beaussopet' – Domaine Laporte

'La Vigne de Beaussoppet' is a plush, full, enveloping wine – thanks to a proportion of barrel fermentation and lees contact. Hints of smoke tantalise on the nose, interwoven with classic notes of tomato leaf and mown grass. There's also an astonishing bouquet of white flowers and ripe stone fruits. And it all carries harmoniously onto the palate, held together with a lifting acidity. £25.

Brouilly – Pierre-Marie Chermette

Wild cherry aroma. Dry with bright acidity, a beautiful naturalness to the fruit and some tannic grip to go with food. A serious and long-lived Beaujolais. £17.75.

With a tradition firmly rooted in aviation, the complicated dial of the Breitling Navitimer may, on first impression, seem rather intimidating even to the most competitive mind. But every calibration, sub-dial and number position performs a very specific function.

It is a slide rule for aviators, originally designed in 1952 to measure flight times, calculate speed and fuel requirements, but now has become one of the most iconic and recognisable watches on the prestige market.

Sitting within a 43mm stainless steel case and protected by sapphire crystal glass, this Breitling Navitimer B01 watch boasts a striking black dial with three sub-dials, luminescent hands and hour markers for optimum visibility and a date display window between 4 o’clock and 5 o’clock.

Always ready for action, the watch features a steel rotating bezel, which acts as a slide rule, and a black alligator with contrast stitching, and is held with a secure folding clasp.

Powered by a great automatic movement, the watch is water-resistant to 30 metres and offers a 70-hour power reserve.

The transparent case back reveals the automatic movement. A magnificent piece of precision instrumentation. £6,220.

N°5 THE BODY LOTION - FACTORY 5 COLLECTION (LIMITED EDITION)

N°5 is quite possibly the most iconic fragrance of the century. A radical creation that revolutionised the traditions of its era. A design piece turned icon that celebrates 100 years of fame in 2021.

To mark this very special year, Chanel has created an exclusive collection inspired by everyday objects, as a reminder that wearing N°5 transforms the ordinary. These 17 limited edition products make up the Factory 5 Collection. 

Housed in a flexible stand-up pouch, this light, airy body lotion leaves skin comfortably moisturised for up to eight hours. 

£48; 200ml; chanel.com

The Chanel Factory 5 Collection will only be available from now and for a limited amount of time from chanel.com and from the Chanel Factory 5 pop-up at the Selfridges London Corner Shop From 5 – 31 July.

Fear Street Part One

Netflix kicks off its brand new trilogy today with the first adaptation of teen horror author RL Stine’s set of supernatural books, making for a marvellously entertaining throwback slasher.

After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that's plagued their notorious town for centuries. Welcome to Shadyside.

Starring Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., part two will be released on 9 July.

Watch it on Netflix today

Something for the holidays: Soccer Shooters

Football engagement and enjoyment specialist Soccer Shooters is delighted to be hosted by Redland Green School and Sir Bernard Lovell Sports Centre during this summer holiday. Football Fundays are a really popular and fun way for children (Reception to Year 7) to learn football skills and social skills, building confidence and self-esteem. The Fundays are a mixture of fun games, football matches and mini tournaments. Soccer Shooters combines top-quality coaching with a relaxed and inclusive environment, enabling children of all backgrounds and abilities to sharpen their football skills while also learning life skills that will serve them well, no matter what they want to do in the future. Book soon to avoid disappointment.

Redland Green School, Bristol BS6 7EH; Sir Bernard Lovell Sports Centre, Bristol BS30 8TS; soccershooters.com/holiday-clubs

Hestercombe Gardens & Gallery

Nestled at the foot of the beautiful Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Hestercombe Gardens features a stunning collection of historic gardens, steeped in history and bursting with wildlife.

A visit should include a meander through the splendid Georgian landscape garden, followed by the vibrant colours of the formal gardens, designed by Gertrude Jekyll and Sir Edwin Lutyens. Lose yourself along the cool rills, or under the picturesque pergola, adorned with fragrant roses and lavender. 

The whole family will enjoy Hestercombe, with 50 acres of gardens to explore, two play areas, a café and restaurant, gift shop, and plant centre, plus art exhibitions at Hestercombe Gallery. During school holidays there are fun-packed activity days for children. See the website for more information and tickets.

Cheddon Fitzpaine, Taunton TA2 8LG
hestercombe.com; 01823 413923

Image credit: Chris Lacey

Boo Mallinson & Robert Hewer, Lime Tree Gallery, 19 June – 10 July

Lime Tree Gallery is showcasing a powerful and thoughtful exhibition by two artists who are different yet complementary in style. Boo Mallinson's calming and serene abstract landscapes contrast with Robert Hewer’s bold and striking portraits, and the exhibition introduces Robert's still life paintings to Bristol for the first time.

Throughout the exhibition, there visitors will notice a connection to Dorset as Robert grew up there and Boo chooses to paint her beautiful landscapes in the county.

limetreegallery.com 

Image: Autumn Coast by Boo Mallinson

Bristol Shakespeare Festival

This marvellous annual event's Shakespearean summer spectacular is heading for a venue near you. With a line-up for July that includes Downpour Theatre Company's Queen Margaret, The Lord Chamberlain's Men's Macbeth, Folksy's The Tempest, The Natural Theatre Company's Shakespeare Undone and Acting Out's A Midsummer Night's Dream: Children's Workshop you can watch a traditional performance, or a brand new take on the bard's work.

There's a range of indoor, outdoor and online performances, including Brandon Hill Bowling Green, The Alma Tavern, Room Above and Boiling Wells Amphitheatre. Take advantage of the carefully curated line-up to visit Bristol's beautiful venues and find your new favourite show to share with family and friends.

To view the full line-up and book tickets, go to bristolshakespearefestival.org.uk

Just one week to go before timetable changes in the Bristol area

There is just a week to go before work intensifies to transform Bristol Temple Meads, and the railway serving the area – paving the way for more train services to move more people, more reliably.

The work is part of the Bristol Rail Regeneration programme that will see improvements to the Bristol Temple Meads station over the next three years, supporting the city’s Temple Quarter development.

This programme will also deliver new railway tracks and signalling in and around Bristol that, once complete, will increase capacity in the area – allowing more trains to run on the network.

These services will provide over 4,000 additional seats on trains every day in the area, plus there are plans for new stations through the MetroWest initiative backed by the West of England Combined Authority.

Customers are urged to plan ahead and visit GWR.com/Bristol, or nationalrail.co.uk, before travelling to see if their journey will be affected.

Trains between London Paddington and South Wales or to the North via Bristol Parkway, or to the South West via Taunton will continue to operate throughout this period.

There will also be no impact on long-distance train services to/from Bristol Temple Meads for the first four weeks, but some local stopping services will be different.

Saturday 10 July to Friday 13 August

• No direct trains between Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central or Gloucester – these trains will stop at Bristol Parkway instead
• Severn Beach trains will run from Lawrence Hill (except Sundays) – alternative road transport will run to/from Bristol Temple Meads

Saturday 7 August and Monday 9 to Friday 13 August

• No trains can run between Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa – alternative road transport will be provided instead, adding around 30 minutes to journeys
• CrossCountry trains won’t stop at Bristol Temple Meads

Sunday 8 August

• No trains can stop at Bristol Temple Meads – alternative road transport will run to/from Bristol Parkway, Bath Spa, Taunton, Weston-super-Mare or Severn Beach

Saturday 14 to Monday 30 August

• No trains can run between Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa – alternative road transport will be provided instead, adding around 30 minutes to journeys

Tuesday 31 August to Friday 3 September

• No trains can stop at Bristol Temple Meads – alternative road transport will run to/from Bristol Parkway, Bath Spa, Taunton, Bedminster or Lawrence Hill

Train companies are working with Network Rail to finalise the timetables for this summer, and we expect to be able to provide more detail about those changes soon.

As an alternative, Great Western Railway will aim to have ticket acceptance on First West of England buses in the Bristol area on any reasonable route for the duration of this period.

For more information visit GWR.com/Bristol.

You can also find out more about the Bristol Rail Regeneration programme at Networkrail.co.uk/BristolRailRegen.

Tram time for Bristol?

A new study of routes has made the case for trams as the key to Bristol’s transport future.

The expert study builds on wide agreement that Bristol needs a new mass transit system to ease gridlock and clean the air.

Detailed appraisal of three essential tram routes shows they are economically viable and there are no engineering or traffic management blockers to installation.

The routes are suitable for 'new generation' trams, which would cost up to 50 per cent less per kilometre than older tram systems. Bristol could leapfrog other cities, adopt this technology, and achieve a substantial shift from car use, the study says.

The report is offered as a 'pre-feasibility study', as Bristol Council and the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) develop their proposals for a new mass transit system. Ideas mooted before the two mayoral elections in May included a mixed under-and-overground system. WECA plans a consultation on the options this summer.