OUR JUNE ISSUE IS OUT NOW!

Our June issue has – among many other incredible things – fantastic interviews that cover theatre, comedy and music. Prepare to be entertained... 

First up is Emma Clegg’s exclusive interview with the one and only Sir Ian McKellen ahead of his appearance on stage at the Hippodrome; then we get under the skin of comedian Peter Serafinowicz’s popular sketch show character, business titan Brian Butterfield who's coming to the Beacon; plus, we chat to Johnny Scratchley from Gentleman’s Dub Club, who will be bringing their thundering bass lines to Bristol Sounds during their headline slot later this month.

15,000 copies are delivered door to door, and you can pick up a copy at many places around town – including our stands at Waitrose, John Lewis, House of Fraser and Harvey Nichols.

Read the digital version of our current issue here!

And if you would like to have a copy sent in the post every month, then we offer a postal subscription for just £33 for 12 issues, £18 for six issues or buy a copy for just £4.95. UK mainland prices. For Euro and World zone subscription prices – click here to subscribe on our website. 

Words by Melissa Blease

Courgettes and Ricotta on Toast

Courgette season is upon us! In this recipe, slow-cooking draws out their natural sweetness and gives them a tender, juicy, jam-like consistency that works wonderfully with smooth, creamy ricotta in this simple, stylish light lunch or supper.

If you're not a fan of ciabatta, focaccia, sourdough or pain de campagne all work well. And, if you have a glut of courgettes, make a bigger batch of the jammy mix and either keep the rest in a airtight tub in the fridge for up to 4 days (it's also lovely stir through pasta or simply served as a side dish) or freeze it for up to 6 months.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 large or 3 medium courgettes, sliced into 1cm-thick slices
250g ricotta
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 thick slices ciabatta

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the fennel seeds and chilli flakes and sauté for around a minute or until sizzling and fragrant. Add the garlic and courgettes and continue to cook over a medium heat for around 30 minutes, stirring regularly, until the courgettes have 'collapsed' and become jammy and browned in patches.

Keep the courgettes warm while you toast the ciabatta. Stir the lemon zest into the ricotta and spread it over the toasts. Stir the lemon juice into the courgettes, season according to taste and spoon on top of the ricotta. Serve immediately.

Italian white wines at The Great Wine Co.

From the Dolomites to the bays of Sicily, Italy's topographic makeup lends itself perfectly to wine production. As a result of her physique Italy boasts a myriad of different soils and climates. Adding to the equation a plethora of indigenous grape varieties, each harvest yields an abundance of diverse and fascinating wine styles. Italy is further blessed with many dedicated and passionate winemakers and vine growers.

San Vincezo, Anselmi | £16.95

Made by maverick Roberto Anselmi, who rejected his wines' entitlement to the Soave DOCG designation, on the grounds that it did not do justice to their quality! This aromatic, fruity style offers peaches, hazelnuts and orange blossom on the nose with refreshingly clean, crisp, flavours and a long finish. Anselmi's vineyards cover 62 acres, high in the volcanic hills of Soave and Monteforte d’Alpone. The perfect southern exposure and elevated hillsides, well-drained volcanic tuff and rocky/calcareous slopes; together with severe pruning and green harvest, serve to reduce crop yields and ensure concentration and character in the wine.

Vermentino, Cala Silente, Santadi | £18.85

Vermentino is most famous on the Tuscan coast, but Sardinia makes some cracking examples, and this is one of them. Pale green colour, with exciting lemon and peach aromas that are also evident on the palate. Juicy and rounded, with that magical combination of refreshing crispness and satisfying weight of texture. A wine to which you'll want to return.

Gavi di Gavi DOCG, Fontanafredda | £22

One of Italy's most fashionable whites, it is noted for acute dryness and fresh, flinty acidity. This is a bright straw-yellow wine with greenish highlights. It has a full, delicate, elegant bouquet which brings flowers and fresh fruit to mind - mostly lemons, lilies of the valley and green apples. Its palate is attractively young, dry, fresh and well-balanced.

Alastro Bianco, Planeta | £19.95

From one of the finest and most famous wine producers in Sicily, Alastro’s name comes from the wild flower that grows round the winery. The wine is made principally from the Grecanico grape, blended with two notably aromatic varieties, Grillo and Sauvignon Blanc. It is splendidly fragrant and delicately structured, with aromas of tropical fruit, fresh citrus and white flowers.

Visit greatwine.co.uk to explore more

Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date series

The first-ever sports diving watch for Montblanc, the Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date series features a glacier pattern dial that gives the impression of looking into the depths of a glacier.

The 41 mm case features a glacier pattern dial inspired by the Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice) the main glacier of the Mont-Blanc Massif. Its texture was achieved using an almost-forgotten ancestral technique called gratté-boisé – where a piece of wood is used to ‘scrape’ the surface - using this method the design takes much longer to create than a standard dial and is completely unique to the watch industry.

Shown here is the burgundy-tone glacier pattern dial which is evocative of the deep red colour of the evening sun as it hits the glacier. The watch comes with a black ceramic unidirectional bezel, a 3D engraving of an iceberg and a diver on the case back, and an interchangeable stainless steel bracelet with fine adjustment system. It’s equipped with the excellent Sellita-based MB24.17 automatic movement, and conforms to the ISO 6425 norm for scuba diving with a water resistance of 300 meters. A great and very cool watch. Price: £2,965

For more information on the 1858 Iced Sea Automatic range and more watches by Montblanc click here to visit the Mallory website.

The shirt that's just landed!

Elevate your holiday wardrobe with Whistles' latest addition, the Crochet Circle Shirt - guaranteed to offer a sense of nostalgic elegance and nonchalance however you style it. Crafted in a crochet style, the skirt comes in yellow with circular details and unique pearled buttons. Designed in an elegant slim fit, it is complete with a collared neck and long sleeves.

Impeccable fits, premium fabrics and unique prints; Whistles' Limited Edition Collection is a contemporary edit of design-led pieces alongside more timeless investments – all made to a strictly limited run, so exclusivity is guaranteed.

Whistles | £149
Click here to explore the limited edition collection.

Diptyque Citronelle Candle | £56

Unwind and enjoy a relaxing summer escape with the Diptyque Citronnelle Candle. This luxury Citronnelle Candle aims to evoke the Mediterranean. The vibrant illustration, designed by French artist Alexandre Benjamin Navet, captures the essence of this idyllic scene.

Light the candle and let the captivating fragrance fill the home. Lemongrass takes centre stage with its bright, zesty aroma. Hints of verbena, neroli and orange blossom interweave, creating a truly evocative summer fragrance. Perfect for setting the mood for an evening of relaxation, this luxury citronelle candle also boasts a practical benefit as its citronella fragrance helps to deter mosquitos. 

Click here to explore the collection. 

Curated by Daniel McCabe

We’ve seen some interesting literary journals popping up lately, most recently the European Review of Books and Whitney. And now we have Heavy Traffic, a US journal mainly focused on short fiction and edited by its publisher Patrick McGraw. This is actually the fourth issue but it’s catching attention right now because it’s part of a new wave of text-based and experimental publishing jumping out of what has remained a general conventional genre. This issue is designed in stark black and white serif typography by publication design guru Richard Turley which, despite appearances, delivers a very accessible reading experience. It features new work by Linda Yablonsky, Natasha Stagg, Sam Kriss, Keller Easterling, Sierra Armor, Kyle Chayka, Sedrick Chisom, Sean Thor Conroe, Cara Schacter and Jasper Baydala. | £20

magalleria.co.uk

SS Great Britain Botany Crafting Experience

Unearth the fascinating history of plants on board steamships as you collect the supplies to make your very own terrarium. Join experts on board the SS Great Britain in this first-of-its-kind tour.

• Discover new research from the Brunel Institute about the precious plant cargo transported between England and Australia. Then enjoy two crafting experiences; 
• Create a terrarium and take it home with you to watch it grow!
• Make your own Victorian inspired pressed flower bookmark.

Tickets are £50 each, including access to the two museums, dry dock and ship.

Wednesday 12 June & Saturday 22 June.

Click here to book now.

Infamous sketch show character heads to Bristol Beacon on 22 June

Comedian Peter Serafinowicz brings his breakout sketch show character – business ‘titan' Brian Butterfield – to Bristol Beacon on 22 June, when he will impart the secrets to ‘success' in his wildly popular seminar series Call of Now.

Serafinowicz (who's recently appeared in Netflix’s The Gentlemen and Amazon Prime’s Dead Hot) made his name on British radio and TV in the 90s, followed by numerous guest appearances on shows like Spaced, Smack the Pony, Black Books, QI, and 8 Out of 10 Cats among others, but it was his 2007 programme The Peter Serafinowicz Show that brought his Butterfield character into homes across the UK. Butterfield has now been peeled away of the security of sketch show skits for his latest UK tour, a special two-hour show.

Grab tickets while they’re still available from Bristol Beacon. Read our exclusive chat with the man himself in our June issue here.

Charity lawn bowls afternoon

Join Harold Stephens for an afternoon of bowls, tea and cake to raise money for St Peter's Hospice! Tickets are £10 and include all refreshments, bowls coaching and a fun game. Whether you are new to bowls or a seasoned pro, it's sure to be a fun afternoon and all for a good cause. 

11 June 1-3.30pm; call Amy to book your spot on 0117 363 6212 or email community@haroldstephens.co.uk

Canford Bowling Club, Canford Park, Canford Lane, BS9 3QJ

This summer at Ashton Gate Stadium

BS3, 22June 12pm- 11pm

One stadium, two stages, ten artists. This is Ashton Gate Presents BS3.
Joining NE-YO, Craig David Presents TS5, DJ Spoony Presents Garage Classical, Jess Glynne and host Fatman Scoop for the first one-day festival to be promoted by Ashton Gate will be Dizzee Rascal, Stefflon Don, Roni Size, Damage, House Gospel Choir and Krush. For more info and tickets click here.

Kings of Leon, 23 June 5-8pm

Kings of Leon are bringing their Can We Please Have Fun world tour to Ashton Gate Stadium. Joining them on the evening will be special guests English indie rock band The Vaccines and BRIT Award winner Holly Humberstone. Tickets are on sale now and different hospitality packages are available to book. For more info and tickets click here.

Image: 'THAIS' by Carl Melegari

'The Changing Face' by Carl Melegari at Clifton Contemporary Art

Carl Melegari’s portraits and figure paintings radiate life. Their deeply textured surfaces and muted, monochromatic palette are imbued with presence and character, balancing abstraction and the figurative. 

His latest collection at Clifton Contemporary Art conjures this inherent balance through powerful studies of the human face, revealing fleeting expressions and innate personality, while revelling in the sheer physicality of oil paint.

The exhibition runs until 13 June, then 22 June–20 July; 25 Portland Street, Clifton, BS8 4JB; cliftoncontemporaryart.co.uk

94 Coldharbour Lane, Redland BS6

Offered for sale by Knight Frank estate agents

A gorgeously presented, four bedroom family home with original Victorian features throughout. Set in heart of Redland, and firmly within the Redland Green Catchment area, 94 Coldharbour Road is a fine example of a well-proportioned home for family living and entertaining.

The stylish and luxuriously fitted kitchen features all the essential appliances and provides ample cupboard and preparation space. A useful utility cupboard houses the washing machine and also provides excellent storage.

The porch and entrance hall have been recently renovated, with Victorian style tiles. At the back of the hall is a well considered home office space. There is cleverly designed under the stairs storage.

The living room is placed at the front of the house; a large, open space with wooden flooring and bespoke shutters on the sash windows. The open plan kitchen/diner is a great family room, with an island / breakfast bar separating the two spaces. Through the kitchen is a useful utility, downstairs W/C and access to the rear garden and parking spaces.

On the first floor is the principal bedroom, a large double bedroom and a family bathroom. The principal suite has an en-suite and is at the front of the house, which is bay fronted with double glazed sash windows.

The other two double bedrooms are on the second floor, with a central bathroom servicing them both. There is eaves storage which wraps around three of the external walls on this top level.

The garden and patio are South East facing; at the end of the garden is a well positioned table for catching the afternoon sun. There is access to the 2 gated parking spaces, through a lane off Greendale Road. There is side access to the garden via the entrance porch. The basement level, which covers the entire floorprint of the house, serves as great additional storage, alongside the external storage room. | Guide Price £1,250,000

For more information and images click here