As always, our current issue has a collection of great reading by our team of wonderful writers as well as beautifully presented advertising by Bath's best businesses. We hope you'll enjoy this month's magazine.

Every month we deliver 15,000 copies door to door, but if you don't get a copy at home then you can pick up a copy at many places around town and from our floor stands at: Waitrose, Sainsbury [Green Park], M&S Foods in Twerton, Tesco in Weston Village, and at The Holburne Museum. 

You can also enjoy our August issue here. 

Graves - Château des Gravières
Gold medalist at Sommelier Wine Awards 2019. Deep garnet-red with a slightly woody and toasted nose and aromas of prunes and liquorice. Fleshy, robust and well-balanced in the mouth with a firm, lengthy finish. This is a fantastic value classic Graves red that delivers loads of pleasure at a very modest price. £14.95

Lalande-de-Pomerol - Château La Croix Romane
A young and intense wine; the nose, both elegant and powerful, combines candied fruit and toasted notes. Equal in intensity, the palate charms with its highly supple and smooth mouth-feel and by its beautiful roundness. It is well-structured with dense, oaky and vanillary tannins and by a long finish. A lasting pleasure! £22

Lussac-Saint-Émilion - Château La Tuilerie des Combes
The Saint Émilion 'satellite' areas of Lussac and Puisseguin produce wines that are virtually impossible to tell apart from Saint Émilion proper, and are often exceptional value for money. £17.75

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. With just 10 hectares of vines, Château Valoux is an old wine estate in Pessac-Léognan owned and run by Sophie Lurton of Chateau Bouscaut. £22

Bordeaux Blanc La Réserve - Lucien Lurton Collection
Pale lemon in colour with a pronounced fruity nose. Light and refreshing on the palate with notes of green and citrus fruits and hints of elderflower. Perfect balance and a long finish. A great value white Bordeaux at just £11.75

Péssac-Léognan Blanc, Cru Classé - Château Bouscaut
What a wine! Such an exciting and complex mélange of aromas - passionfruit, lemon curd, toast, crème brûlée, cinnamon and poached pear. In the mouth, it has a creamy, suave texture, cut across by vibrant acidity. Fabulous length of flavour, with amazing concentration on the finish. It just lasts and lasts on the palate. Something very special, £48.

The Great Wine Co has a range of excellent Bordeaux wines - Click  to explore

“You can't use a ready-made pastry case!” Oh yes you can – and if you're in a hurry, you really should; after all, we don't always have the time for blending, chilling, rolling, blind-baking and cooling, do we? And this is when the ready-made shortcrust shortcut comes into its own.

This recipe fills one 22cm/8-9 inch tart case with a luxurious filling that, when served at room temperature (which you must do, in order to allow the chocolatey scrumptiousness to work its magic), cuts like butter. As well as the classic dark chocolate recipe, I've made it with various chocolate mixtures including salted caramel, orange and ginger to great results, so feel free to experiment – as long as you use 70% dark chocolate for half the amount of the chocolate in the filling, you can't go wrong.

Ingredients

150ml double cream
1 level tbs caster sugar
200g quality dark chocolate (70%), chopped into chunks
45g room temperature butter, cubed
50ml cold milk
1 ready made 22cm/8-9 inch sweet pastry case
To serve (optional): summer berries; thick cream

Method

1. Pour the double cream into a small saucepan, add the caster sugar and heat until it just reaches boiling point. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add the butter and chocolate, stirring well until both have melted into the cream.
2. Allow to cool slightly before stirring the cold milk into the mixture – if it starts to split, allow it to cool down a little bit more and whisk in a little extra cold milk until smooth.
3. Pour the mixture into the pastry shell, shake gently to level the top, and allow to cool completely (around 1-2 hours). If making ahead, store in the fridge for up to 24 hours, but remove it around 1 hour before you plan to eat it to allow it to return to room temperature. 

This year, more and more of the greatest watchmakers are deviating from the traditional casing metals with a trend towards using bronze to create a very unique finish and a distinctly vintage look. A specially developed Bronze alloy for the industry is also remarkably tough and scratch resistant (more so than stainless steel) but ages with the oxidisation of the copper contained, so the metal develops a very pleasing patina and eye-catchingly different to gold or rose gold cases.

The Tudor Black Bay Bronze watch has a beautiful 43mm bronze case with a fine brushed finish. It features a bronze bezel ring that rotates in a single direction with a diving scale and a luminous dot at the start position. The dial features luminous Arabic numerals and dot hour markers as well as matching bronze luminous hands. A grey and bronze coloured fabric NATO strap, a great automatic movement and is water resistant to 200m. £3,110

The TAG Heuer Autavia Calibre 5 Bronze 42mm Automatic chronometer has been given a brushed bronze case too. Oozing vintage vibes it features a railtrack-style printed second marker around the green dial a date window on the 6 o’clock marker. The bronze sword shape hands are filled with luminous material and the big Arabic numbers are easy to read in low light. A green calfskin strap completes this rugged looking but very attractive timepiece. Tag’s Autavias have an excellent automatic movement and are water resistant to 100m. £3,150

The 1858 Chronograph Bronze Limited Edition 1858 comes in a 42mm full bronze case with green dial with two sub dials. For legibility the dial contrasts nicely against the luminescent cathedral-shaped hands. Large luminescent Arabic numerals, a railway minutes track and the original Montblanc logo from the 1930s all add to the pleasing vintage look - completed by a quality woven khaki-green textile Nato strap. Automatic movement and water resistant to 30m. £4,200.

Click here to fInd out more at Mallory

Feeling inspired by Tom Daley's snazzy new knit? Looking to pick up some more needles for your next creation? Take a look at A Yarn Story's brilliant collection. With everything from Brooklyn Tweed to Walcot Yarns on offer, you won't be disappointed!

128 Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BG
ayarnstory.co.uk

Image credit: instagram.com; madewithlovebytomdaley

The piped version of Tekla Frabrics' Poplin Sleepwear is its take on a classic pyjamas silhouette. It is equally suitable for lounging, sleeping and taking care of errands. The oversized fit is for everyone to wear and enjoy!

Special features:

• Crisp and light feel on the skin
• Oversized and relaxed fit
• Lightly stonewashed for extra softness

100% Organic Cotton; £160 (Shirt) £140 (Trousers)

teklafabrics.com

Wild Alchemy Journal is a new and simply gorgeous multi-sensory, multi-disciplinary magazine exploring the classical elements of earth, fire, water, air and aether. The inaugural Earth Edition came out at the end of 2020 and promptly sold out before we got a proper look at it. Published by experimental botanical studio Mama Xanadu, it's a project that seeks 'to navigate our fractured relationship with nature and the cosmos through both a scientific and esoteric lens’ with contributions from artists, writers, academics, scientists, therapists, wildlings, occult practitioners and other thinkers around this intersection. Having made a more thorough examination this time round we can tell you that the Fire Edition is not only dense with fascinating information but it’s a very lush and immersive print experience. £17

Tickets are still available for both days of The Bath Festival's Finale Weekend! With big name acts set to grace the stage, its guaranteed to be a weekend to remember!

Saturday's line up includes:

McFly, Scouting For Girls, Gabrielle, Orla Gartland, Lauran Hibberd, Josh Gray, Novacub, George Pelham, Dessie Mage, and Luna Lake!

And Sunday will see:

UB40 feat Ali Campbell & Astro, Billy Ocean, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Seth Lakeman, Twinnie, Bloco B, Hannah Grace, Casey Lowry and Life in Mono.

As part of a summer of events and activities, for all the family, visitors can enjoy an exhibition of specially commissioned contemporary photography by Bristol-based photographer Peter Hall. The exhibition also features a short documentary film by film maker Reuben Gaines in collaboration with Peter Hall.

The photographs were taken in 2019, months before our world was changed by Covid-19. They provide a vivid record of a much-loved highlight in Somerset’s farming calendar. The Royal Bath and West Show has been at the heart of the West Country’s rural life since the first show was held in 1852. This year the usual show is replaced by the Bath & West Country Festival from 27–29 August.

swheritage.org.uk/somerset-rural-life-museum

Image: Milkers Taking a Break by Peter Hall

Bath Contemporary Artists’ Fair is delighted to welcome everyone back to its August fair. The fair is committed to bringing the best of contemporary art from the city and beyond right to the heart of Bath. Following on from the successful and popular fairs last year, the next event is on 8 August, where visitors can browse the brilliant works of local artists and admire fine art, photography, sculpture and textiles, all under the vaulted glass roof of Green Park Station. For updates and exhibiting artists visit the website.

bcaf.co.uk

Image by Carol West

Taylor's Bagels & Coffee – a family owned and run cafe, hand making all their own bagels and serving some of the best coffee Bath – are looking to open a second location!

The London Street hotspot is crowdfunding and asking the public to help them get across the finish line. They are doing everything from the design to the shop fit-out themselves and determined to create a friendly and welcoming space for all to enjoy.

Siblings, Natz and Kai Taylor have been in hospitality for many years (since before leaving school), helping out at their dad's award-winning restaurant.

Growing up on a NGO family-owned coffee farm in southern Africa, Kai honed his skills in propagating, harvesting and roasting coffee. This led him to start his own coffee roastery (SolidGround) where he began his retail journey supplying premium coffee to local restaurants, cafes and hotels around the city of Cape Town.

Natz, who heads up their pastries and bagels, went on to be trained by world-class chefs in a beautiful wine producing region of Cape Town. This culminated in her opening her own bagel/bistro, which was a huge success. Her work ethic (which involves her waking up most mornings at 3am) and her focus on excellence at every level has been an essential ingredient towards the current success of Taylor's Bagels and Coffee.

The team is aiming to raise £10,000. The project will only be funded if at least £10,000 is pledged by 31 August 2021 at 10:36am.

Follow the link to Taylor's Bagels and Coffee crowdfunder and please donate if you can!

crowdfunder.co.uk

Although this location is immediately recognisable, and although almost all the buildings survive, it looks very different today. The Sawclose is so called because it was once home to a sawpit where wood for the city’s buildings was sawn into shape. On a map of 1694 it is actually shown as Timber Green. Such things may have been a distant memory by the time this photograph was taken around 1905, but the activity captured on it – such as it is – centres on a building with an equally utilitarian function. This was the City Weighing Engine, where coal merchants had to have their loads weighed before they delivered them. If they failed to do so, they risked ending up in court, so, given the amount of coal that was burnt in Bath in the early 20^th century, it seems likely there was an almost constant stream of carts lumbering through the Sawclose back then. The weighing machine is long gone, the Sawclose has been largely pedestrianised, and today it is cafés rather than coal carts that predominate. Even the Blue Coat School, seen here with some of its pupils huddled around the back gate, has been converted to a restaurant – the Giggling Squid.

akemanpress.com

This fragrance takes you to the quintessence of the Italian lifestyle: the refinement of an Aperitivo. Enjoying a glass of Spritz on a sunny terrace gently kissed by the warm summer breeze overlooking the beauty of the city’s heart. The solar Italian elegance captured in a fragrance made of sparkling citruses. Burning Time: up to 50 hours.

Aperitivo in Terrazza Candle 200g; £55.00

houseoffraser.co.uk

5 bedrooms, 4 Reception rooms, 3 Bathrooms

Number 10a Great Pulteney Street is a beautifully restored Grade I listed Georgian townhouse. The property retains many of its original features and following a complete refurbishment in 2002, its accommodation is versatile and is laid out over six floors.

On entering the property one is greeted by a large, elegant entrance hall with stone flooring, a fireplace and impressive cornices and friezes. The size and styling of this hallway is believed to be unique in Great Pulteney Street. To the rear of the ground floor is a spacious dual aspect sitting room with lovely views across the gardens. A practical utility room and cloakroom completes the accommodation on this level. On the first floor, overlooking Great Pulteney Street is the drawing room, with its beautifully detailed cornicing and a cast iron fire with original Robert Adam surround. The proportions of this commanding room are of a domestic scale and make it ideal for entertaining and relaxing. Also situated on this floor is the spacious study which could alternatively be used as a fifth bedroom.

A further flight of stairs advances to the master suite floor. There are two sash windows which allow light to flood into the elegant master bedroom while the stone fireplace and cornice add interest. From this room there are delightful views to be enjoyed down William Street, across the recreation ground to the hills beyond. The master bathroom is of particular note and comprises an elegant suite including walk-in shower, bath, WC and basin. A sweeping staircase rises to the top floor where two more bedrooms and a family bathroom can be found.

The lower ground and garden floors of the property have also been restored to a very high standard. The spacious kitchen-come-dining room with its granite surfaces offers many modern appliances, including freestanding cooker and fridge/freezer. The rest of the accommodation at this level comprises a garden room with a period fireplace and French doors leading to the garden, while at the front of the property there is a library/family room with extensive library shelving and storage. There is access to the front courtyard and two vaults beyond. The garden floor provides a further bedroom with built-in cupboards and French doors into the garden. To the front of the property there is an exercise room, sauna and a shower room.

The garden has been landscaped in a Georgian style to complement the house, featuring a low maintenance garden with a variety of shrubs, plants and trees. At the end of the garden, steps lead to the secure garage with electric door (shared with number 11 Great Pulteney Street) where two cars can be parked in tandem, with access into Henrietta Mews and Henrietta Park beyond. £2,300,000 Freehold

For further details and images, visit Winkworth Estate Agents' website