A specially curated guide to help you enjoy the next 48 hours (or more) in Bristol

JUNIOR BAKE OFF FINAL  |  WE'RE ROOTING FOR ROBBIE

One of the telly delights of the past two weeks has been Junior Bake Off which airs each evening on Channel 4 at 5pm (we’ve been watching it on 4+1 honest, boss…)

The show follows the format of the adult version but with the added charm of messier work benches, grubbier aprons and multiple shots of the contestants nibbling bits of chocolate or cake decorations while managing to stay on task. Judges Liam Charles and Ravneet Gill make no concessions to the contestants’ ages and host Harry Hill keeps the kind of order provided by your funny uncle at a birthday party. The participants have also really impressed in the gracious, if sometimes tearful way they cope with going out of the competition.

Our primary reason for watching has been in support of beaming Bristol contestant Robbie who, at 15, is the oldest contender and whose parents and family must be bursting with pride. Robbie’s baking has been consistent throughout but he has also won our hearts with his team spirit (apparently learned on the cricket field) in helping the younger contestants, as well as his twinkly rapport with presenter Harry.

Having won ‘star baker’ with his tropically inspired fault line cake (look it up…) happy-go-lucky Robbie goes into today’s final looking strong if he can keep his nerve and, we’re willing to bet, with an army of Bristol’s mums and grandmas willing him on.

Image credit: Duncan Webb

ROWING THE ATLANTIC  |  TALISKER WHISKY CHALLENGE

Female team of four The Bristol Gulls charged into English Harbour, Antigua, completing this year’s Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in the first ever eco-boat to take part in the race.

The team of friends from Bristol - Lorna Carter, Sofia Deambrosi, Phoebe Wright and Sarah Hunt – who were brought together through their love of rowing and adventure, completed the crossing in a boat crafted from a range of sustainable materials - including the core which was manufactured from 100% recycled post-consumer plastic bottles. The intention: to become the first team to complete the race in a boat made in an environmentally friendly way and raise awareness of ocean pollution.

Yesterday (28 January), they achieved their goal, finishing the 3,000-mile rowing race in 46 days, seven hours and 50 minutes with crew member Sofia Deambrosi also becoming the first person from Uruguay to row any ocean.

Sarah Hunt, from The Bristol Gulls, said: “It’s really overwhelming but a great feeling to be in Antigua and back on dry land. While out in the ocean, one remarkable moment was during the pitch black of night when we noticed the blow of an orca whale before more and more appeared and were swimming alongside us. We’re never going to experience that again and it will stay with us all forever.”

thebristolgulls.com

WEEKEND WINE  |  LA VIE EN ROSÉ

Porte Noire Rosé

Following an impressive list of celebs doing rosé, this is possibly one of the more impressive bottles. Launched by actor and musician Idris Elba last year, the Porte Noire Rosé is from Château Sainte Marguerite and was awarded 'Best in Show' at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020. This delicate wine has a delightfully floral nose, with heady passion fruit. It has a strong backbone of acidity, supporting a palate of peach and orange peel. £29.50.

Pretty Gorgeous Rosé

A pretty, dainty rosé, ideal during the warmer months. Intense lychee and strawberry notes are greeted with hints of violet and good acidity. £8.85.

Rosé Brut Veuve Ambal

Sparkling pink rosé from Provence, brimming with strawberry, raspberry and a little cherry, with a touch of spice in the nostrils. £14.75.

Rosé Les Mougeottes

This wine displays a pale Provencal pink hue with raspberry and strawberry notes on the nose hinting at a light touch of blossom. This is an elegant rosé with refreshing acidity. £10.95.

Love by Léoube Organic Rosé

From the excellent Château Leoube, this quintessential, dry and elegant Provence rosé has a vibrant acidity and a lovely finish; a wine to come back to again and again. £39.50 France

Visit the online cellars of the Great Wine Co to find out more: click here

ON THE BOX  |  AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY

Directed by Simon Stone and based on the 2007 novel of the same name by John Preston, The Dig details one of Britain's most notorious archaeological digs and reimagines the events of the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo in Suffolk.

Starring Hollywood legends Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, Johnny Flynn, Ben Chaplin, Ken Stott, Archie Barnes and Monica Dolan, this is not one to miss.

Watch it on Netflix now

FASHION FIX  |  BACK IN STOCK

Crafted from only the most luxurious fabrics, each piece in this collection is made to a strictly limited run, so exclusivity is guaranteed.

This coat is made from wool-tweed woven with classic houndstooth checks in shades of beige and white. It has a high collar wrap detail and will elevate everything from jeans to leather trousers.

£349; whistles.com

IN THE KITCHEN  |  FINE HOME DINING

PREPARE FOUR  |  IT'S TOFU IN LOCKDOWN

OBJECTS OF INTEREST  |  LOVE IS...

The Happy Hearts bangles from Chopard feature two hearts – each beautifully counter-balanced in harmonious closeness.

One big heart is filled with a colourful, precious gemstone or even a diamond cluster, the other heart contains a freely floating diamond, sealed in a crystal glass case. The bangle is made from 18ct gold - also available in 18ct white, or 18ct rose gold. It’s an iconic and beautiful collection from Maison Chopard. Prices from £2420.

Click here to see a range of bangles and the Happy Heart collection - as well as many other treasures from Chopard at Mallory.

NEWS FROM THE CITY  |  BRISTOL FILM FESTIVAL

Bristol Film Festival is encouraging people to rediscover classic films with the Film Night Companion, a new concept that contains everything needed for a film night in, delivered straight to people’s homes.

Following a successful soft launch before Christmas, the Film Night Companion range contains is expanding, with currently over 50 films to choose from.

Film Night Companions allow you to select your preferred drink and snacks to accompany your chosen film. Each Companion contains:

• A drink to enjoy while watching the film – either red, white or
  sparkling wine, pre-mixed cocktail or non-alcoholic option.
• A snack selection to accompany the chosen drink option – sweet, savoury, nuts, chocolate, vegan, nut and gluten-free.
• A copy of So You Think You Know... - a challenging 100-question quiz based on the selected film.
• Film Night Companions also have a customisation option, with a personalised note, making them a perfect gift for any film fan.

Film Night Companions are currently available for purchase via Bristol Film Festival’s website

GREAT READS  |  FROM THE ARCHIVES

HEALTHY EATS  |  CROWNED WITH AN EGG

Fun to say, easy to make and absolutely delicious to eat, bipimbap – a Korean rice dish packed with all manner of tastebud-tantalising goodies – is guaranteed to shake your senses out of a deep midwinter slump. It's even supposed help the body excrete and burn unwanted fats.

This recipe uses chicken, but thinly sliced frying steak or cubes of drained, firm tofu work equally well. Gochujang, sriracha and white miso paste are readily available in supermarkets, and the pickles are an optional flourish but, as they're really quick and easy to make too, they're highly recommended. As for the addition of the fried egg on each portion: the rich, creamy yolks add a super-sensual layer of luxury to the whole affair, while the smooth white adds yet more texture – mashisoyo indeed!

Ingredients (serves 2)

200g skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil (plus extra, to serve)
130g rice
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 thumb-size chunk of root ginger, peeled and grated
50g spinach
2 tbsp gochujang or 4 tsp sriracha (or to taste)
1 tbsp white miso paste
2 large eggs
Sesame oil, for marinading and serving
Vegetable oil, for stir-frying

For the pickled vegetables:

½ a cucumber, peeled, deseeded and cut into matchsticks
1 large shallot, peeled and finely sliced
3 tbsp rice or white vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
½ tbsp grated ginger
½ tsp salt
Sprinkle of dried chilli flakes (optional)

Method

1. For the pickled vegetables: stir the sugar into the vinegar until dissolved. Add the ginger, salt and chilli flakes (if using) and stir again. Add the sliced vegetables and mix well. Leave to stand, stirring occasionally, while you make the bipimbap.

2. As you're making up the rest of the recipe, cook the rice according the instructions on the packet.

3. Put the chicken in a bowl with the soy sauce and sesame oil. Stir well and put to one side.

4. Heat around 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan or wok and stir-fry the carrot sticks over a high heat for around 2 minutes. Add the spinach and continue to cook until the leaves start to wilt (around 1 minute.) Remove the vegetables from the pan and set to one side.

5. Add a bit more oil to the pan if necessary, and stir-fry the chicken at a high temperature until browned all over (around 5 minutes). Add the gochujang or sriracha and the miso paste and stir-fry for a further 3 minutes. Meanwhile, fry two eggs until the yolks are just set.

6. Divide the cooked rice between two deep, warmed bowls. Pile the chicken mixture on one side of the rice and the carrot/spinach mixture on the other, and top each bowl with a fried egg. Drizzle the eggs with a splash of soy sauce, a couple of extra dollops of gochujang or sriracha, a few drops of sesame oil and a sprinkling of chilli flakes and serve straight away, adding the pickled vegetables to taste as you're tucking in.

BRISTOL ARTS  |  POETRY IN MOTION

A Bristol poet is helping to spread cheer to people in the city and communities across the South West through a heartwarming poem about pubs, which is being shared by publicans across the region.

The poem, which has been specially commissioned for pubs in the South West by arts project Inn Crowd, is called 'The Best Ones' and has been written and performed by poet Malaika Kegode. It is part of a national campaign called 'Winter Warmers' which aims to help bring some cheer and hope to publicans, their staff and their local communities and to help connect people during this difficult start to 2021 with this current lockdown.

inncrowd.org.uk

Look out for...

ON THE BOOKSHELF  |  BRITISH CULTURE AND IDENTITY

SCHOOLS DIARY  |  VIRTUAL OPEN DAYS

Virtual Events at Badminton School

Nursery & Junior School Open Morning: Wednesday 10 February from 9.00am.

For prospective girls and parents interested in all year groups at Badminton School from the Little Acorns Nursery and Reception through to Year 6 in Junior School (ages 3 - 11).

Book your place here

Senior and Sixth Form Open Morning: Friday 26 February from 9.00am.

For prospective girls and parents interested in all year groups at Badminton School from Year 7 in Senior School through to Sixth Form (ages 11 - 18 years old).

Book your place here

Virtual Open Days at Clifton College:

Upper School: Saturday 30 January

Experience everything Clifton College can offer your child. As the school cannot welcome parents in person to their usual open day events, they are hosting virtual open days where you will have the opportunity to watch interviews with key members of staff and departments as well as the opportunity to take part in a live Q&A session with the school head and admissions team.

If you would like to receive further information about any of Clifton College’s open days, please visit the school’s website below.

For more information click here

INTERIORS  |  PULL A RUG!

This season, Loaf are adding 12 new tootsie-pleasing rugs to their collection. As well as biggies such as the flat weave Loom and Berber style rugs such as Riad, Wilder and Casbah for the living room, they’ve even designed a handful of nifty smaller size rugs bedside beauties, but with all the squish – just curl those toes last thing at night and first thing in the morning… Who needs slippers? With new colours and many sizes available – find a perfect fit from just £145.

The 12 new designs are landing on 4 February 2021 over at loaf.com

Shown above: the Loaf Riad and Loaf Loom

PROPERTY  |  NEW TO THE MARKET

6 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 4 Receptions | Guide Price, £1,895,000

There are several things that would make WFH more attractive but few can match the idea of a heated outdoor swimming pool. So let’s consider Amberwell House, situated in the sought-after village of Leigh Woods. It’s a spacious, effortlessly well-proportioned family home, spanning almost 5000 sq. ft and presenting versatile accommodation over two floors.

From the wide and welcoming entrance hall, double doors open into the principal reception room; a stunning drawing room and open-plan dining room, itself covering some 800 sq. ft alone. The room allows for a wonderful entertaining space; a grown up retreat away from the hustle and bustle of family life.

On the opposite side of the hallway is a lovely light-filled family room, which opens up via double doors into the superb family kitchen and breakfast room. These two rooms are the heart of the house, with views from the kitchen over the rear garden, and over the front garden from the family room.

In addition, the downstairs footprint allows for a separate fitted study, utility room, and cloakroom as well as a useful games room, opening up to the rear garden and swimming pool via sliding glazed doors.

Upstairs, the bedrooms allow for families of nearly all sizes, with the principal family accommodation presenting 5-double bedrooms; complete with an exquisite master bedroom suite which has a built-in dressing room and en-suite shower room.

Two further bedrooms enjoy en-suite facilities with bedrooms five and six sharing a well-appointed family bathroom. In addition, there is a fabulous guest suite - accessed via its own staircase from the main reception room. Perfect for guests to retire to and away from the main family accommodation.

Outside, the house really comes into its own. A low-maintenance family garden is fully enclosed and tracks the day's sun, with a lawn garden to the front and a fabulous rear garden providing year-round activity, complete with a paved dining terrace and. There is plenty of parking too, with electric gates opening up to a tarmac drive-way and off-street parking for several cars. In addition, there is an integrated double garage.

For more information contact Bristol estate agent Rupert Oliver

GARDENING  |  TIME FOR THE SNOWDROP

The milky snowdrop may not be from these parts, but it’s earned squatters’ rights, says garden designer Elly West

Galanthus nivalis, the Latin name for the common snowdrop, is from the Greek ‘gala’ meaning milk, and ‘anthos’ meaning flower, while nivalis means ‘growing near snow’. There are hundreds of cultivated varieties including giant, double and rare yellow flowers. Although they are typically white, with nodding heads marked with green on the inside, small variations in the position, size and shape of these markings can lead so-called galanthophiles to pay £50 per bulb or more for the rare varieties. After a quick Google search, I found the most expensive snowdrop was apparently sold on eBay in 2015 for £1,390 (plus £4 postage). It was a bulb of Galanthus plicatus ‘Golden Fleece’, and while it does look pretty, I’m sure there are better deals to be had...Although snowdrops aren’t strictly native to the UK, having hopped across from Europe – originating from the Pyrenees eastwards – they are so thoroughly naturalised I think they can claim squatters’ rights. When you see their colonies en masse in wild-looking habitats such as moist woodlands, or on the banks of a stream, where they’ve merrily spread in their thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, it’s hard not to believe they are native wild flowers. On a sunny day, the effect can be uplifting and remarkable – and they release their fragrance in the sunshine. Winter would not be the same without snowdrops, and it’s hard not to let your heart be lightened by the sight of them as they take centre stage on a cold and gloomy day.

Many of us know and love the snowdrop – elegant in its simplicity, and made extra special because of the time of year when it’s in bloom. There’s something wonderful about such a delicate flower pushing its way through frozen earth, braving the cold: Brutal as the stars of this month / Her pale head heavy as metal (in the words of TedHughes). Usually seen in drifts, whether in gardens or in woodland, by streams or road sides, they can be put in the ground and then forgotten about – their appearance always a welcome surprise and a sign that spring is on its way. As a garden designer, I usually like to position plants, particularly bulbs and perennials, in drifts rather than singly,echoing the same plants or colours around the garden and when we think about snowdrops, it’s that carpet of white that we imagine, weaving its way through bare-stemmed shrubs and under trees. Even a small space can accommodate a goodsized gathering of these low-maintenance bulbs, guaranteed to brighten a winter day.

Snowdrops are easy to grow, either from dry bulbs or ‘in the green’. The latter tends to have a better survival rate, planted when the leaves start to die back and they have finished flowering. However, I’ve had success growing them from bulbs too. Because the bulbs are so small, they do dry out quickly, so buy them as soon as they’re available and plant them straight away. Try to dig a hole that’s deeper than you might expect – aim for 10-15cm. Choose a partly shaded site and incorporate leaf-mould or compost into the soil when you plant them, making sure not to let the soil get too dry over the summer.

Being under deciduous trees or shrubs suits them well, as they’ll be in sunshine when they emerge, but kept in cooler shelter when they lie dormant. The great thing is, once planted, you can leave them alone – overcrowding doesn’t bother them, and they’ll just keep spreading, by seed and by the bulbs multiplying below ground. And if you do end up with too many, it’s easy to lift a clump and replant them in another part of the garden, or pass them on to a friend. Everyone has room for some snowdrops!

During lockdown we urge readers to try and find local places to spot and enjoy Snowdrops and not travel beyond the government guidelines.

Garden designer Elly West can be contacted on: ellyswellies.co.uk