Become a Tree Hugger!

Guests who quote “Go Green” when booking a stay during “Green Tourism Week” can have a tree planted in their name for an additional £10, which will be donated to the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. An electronic certificate will be sent once their sapling has been planted, with an invitation to visit the woodlands, plus updates about their tree as it grows!

Put a Spring in your Step

On Monday 21 May, guests can join a guided Bluebell walk from Bolton Abbey, led by head concierge Eddie Styles and special guest Lord Burlington. The walk will take place from 10.30am-2.30pm and will be followed by Afternoon Tea in The Burlington restaurant. Booking in advance is essential, and there will be a small charge for this activity.

Five Mile Menu Challenge

Throughout Green Week, all restaurants in the group (apart from the Burlington) have been tasked with ONLY using ingredients from within a 5 mile radius, including home grown produce in the kitchen gardens. In addition to this celebration of local produce, £1 per dish sold will be donated to the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Go Green, Ditch the Car

Entry into the Bolton Abbey estate will be free for all guests who arrive on public transport instead of their car throughout Green Week! Restaurants within the group will also be presenting a free cup of tea or coffee to guests who leave their car at home.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Result!

Guests are invited to bring a bin-bag of recyclable goods, such as unwanted household items or clothes, to The Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel. The hotel will not only recycle the items, as part of their “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” policy, but will also give guests a special discount voucher to use either in Booths food store or towards a treatment in The Devonshire Health Barn.

Become a professional “Bodger”!

Bolton Abbey’s skilled Bodger (a craftsman who uses traditional tools to make sustainable woodland products such as chairs and bird tables) will be giving a demonstration in Strid Wood at 10am on Wednesday 23 May.

Duck Racing!

On Sunday 27 May 2012, guests are invited to take part in the Yorkshire or Derbyshire duck race! The ducks will be released into the river at 11am and 1pm at the Cavendish Pavilion, or 4pm at The Devonshire Arms at Beeley. Top prizes include an overnight stay.

Devonshire Hotels and Restaurants and Bolton Abbey are passionate about environmental responsibility and flagship hotel, The Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel, achieved Silver in the Green Tourism Business Scheme last year. Today, all properties are members of the GTBS and continually strive to achieve their environmental goals. Green Week 2012 is an attempt to raise awareness through innovative and practical methods, and is also a great change to have some fun!

The Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel, Bolton Abbey, North Yorkshire BD23 6AJ

Reservations on 01756 718111 or visit www.thedevonshirearms.co.uk

With the help of online voting (+2500 votes) Stitch has selected just over 40 images to be shown in a pop-up gallery in Notting Hill – 201 Portobello Road, W11 1LU – from Tuesday 15th May – Sunday 20th May. The images have been entered by up and coming and amateur photographers from across the UK.

The winners selected by a judging panel will receive prize money :

£100 first place

£50 each to two runners up

The panel consist of:

Ben Moore FRSA

Ben is Director and founder of Art Below, amongst other projects Art Below enriches the lives of Londoners on their daily commutes by giving fresh insight into the very latest in art, illustration, photography and fashion by exhibiting artists on advertising space in the London Underground.

www.artbelow.org.uk

Shirley Leigh-Wood-Oakes

Shirley is Editor of Dare2Mag – ‘the ultimate eco online lifestyle magazine’. Dare2Mag is full of interesting interviews, articles and reviews on subjects including food, travel, fashion and beauty proving that the good life doesn’t have to cost the earth.

www.dare2mag.com

Sophia Rogge

Sophia is Founder of Sophia Rogge for Coral Conservation, an artist herself – Sophia now uses her skills to design sarongs and T-shirts with designs that inspire people to think about the natural beauty of corals and raise money for their preservation.

www.sophiarogge.com

The exhibition will be open from 10am – 6pm: Tuesday 15th – Saturday 19th May and on Sunday 20th May 10am – 2pm.

All of the photographs explore the themes of ‘Green in Cities’ or ‘Little Wonders of the World.’ The exhibition is in support of Back2Earth Foundation www.back2earth.org.uk and Butterfly Conservation www.butterfly-conservation.org

Photographers:

Alice Hall
Alicia Tolley
Amy Fowler
Anna Bruce
Coral Amiga
Elliot Llewelyn Lewis
Gayle Lazda
Georgina Bolton
Harry Aspinall
Heidi Kuoppamaa
Henrietta Chilton
Ignas van Rijckevorsel
Ivana Miletic Demmel
Jack Fillery
Jack Fillery
Jayne Marriott
Jim Mourilyan
Jose Kovacevic
Matthew Rock
Nathan Meyers
Roxane Grant
Sophie de Carvalho
Stacey Savill
Taylor Fleischner
Cindy D’Roza
Ellen Buckland
Serena France-Hayhurst
Anna Lawrence Jones
Edward Lawton
FJ Mann
Jim Mourilyan
Lucy Berry
Michael Gates-Fleming
Michelle Fox
Shaunagh Darling

Visitors will be able to purchase framed and unframed, limited edition prints from a maximum run of fifty for up to £130.

There will be a private party on Thursday 17th May and a late evening viewing on Friday 18th May. Invitation / RSVP essential to the evening events.

Email info@stitchproject.com for more information.

Dare 2 sits down with the founder of Hardlyeverwornit.com, Sharon Wolter-Ferguson to find out more about her growing business and wardrobe!

Where did the idea for Hardlyeverwornit.com come from?

The idea came from having a huge amount of designer clothing and bags, belonging to both myself and my children and having no satisfactory way of turning them into liquid cash that I could find. There seemed to be a gap in the market to buy and sell items but to also provide integrity and give confidence when buyers have become very wary of designer items that are not authentic.

It has practically been an overnight success, has it been hard to keep up?

Buying and selling on the site hasn’t slowed down but I manage to find the energy and drive I need to keep up!

Over the last three years there have been a number of second-hand and vintage online boutiques start up, what do you think it is that has made Hardly Ever Worn It so popular?

I think the fact that many very well known people use us to sell, including A-list actresses and singers, as well as those with some lovely designer pieces which makes it very exciting to shop on the site. Another reason is due to our payment and vetting system together with our high levels of customer service which has given confidence to both buyers and sellers.

Do you feel that due to the recession more shoppers are turning to hardly worn second-hand clothing?

Definitely, it used to be a bit taboo but it’s now savvy to make some cash from your unwanted items and to pick up a bargain. The items we are selling are of high quality and retain their condition so can easily have a few lives.

You work with your two daughters, what sides of the business do they focus on?

The girls spend a lot of their time dealing with VIPs, collecting and helping to sort their items and adding them to the site. We have listed over 300 items from one A-list client alone, so it takes some management! The girls also deal with customer service, social media including The Hardly Blog as well as showing the ropes to our interns. Basically, they help with everything!

What are some of their favourite designers?

They have very different styles. Natalya likes a very feminine look and loves high heels from Louboutin, but mixed with high street items and a Prada bag.

Tatiana favours a more sporty style, loving Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren.

They both adore Chanel but who doesn’t?

How many new sellers do you have on the site every week?

It varies from week to week but interestingly we’ve seen a huge increase in male sellers recently and also worldwide as people realise that our system offers so much protection and all items are tracked.

You have an office in London and one in Monaco, are there plans to open offices in the US or Asia?

Yes definitely and also hopefully in Paris due to demand.

Do you have a large amount of men shopping on the site?

Yes, men are such easy customers as they know exactly what they want and they buy it. Having found us and purchased items, they often return to the site over and over again.

What is the most popular designer?

Hermes and Chanel always sell well as does Louis Vuitton, YSL and Louboutin shoes. Mulberry is having a big comeback and items tend to sell very quickly to the British customers.

Which celebrities style do you admire?

Since Victoria Beckham’s style became more elegant, I usually like something she’s wearing but there isn’t really anyone who springs to mind. I usually just admire an outfit, ensemble or look but today so many people are dressed by stylists that it’s sometimes hard to read their personal style.

Have there been any items uploaded that you just had to have?

Loads, so much! I have actually just bought a Lanvin double breasted jacket from the site. I also have my eye on a Louboutin clutch, Chanel jacket and some amazing Herve Legers that a star client has just given us so I might have to buy one of those!

Which are your favourite designers?

Chanel, Marchesa, YSL, Louboutin, Markus Lupfer, Stella McCartney and many many more!

Key pieces in your wardrobe this season?

YSL pale metallic turquoise tribute sandals, some Bottega Veneta dresses bought from the site and my black Louboutins which I actually need to replace.

I’m going to try a bit of colour this season as I tend to dress in neutral colours. I’m going to try turquoise, tan and some lovely costume jewellery I’ve seen in Fenwicks.

If it doesn’t work for me, it’ll end up on Hardly!

Hardly Ever Worn It supports a number of different charities, is there one that is dear to your heart?

Yes, the NSPCC is always the first charity I think of as I can’t bear the thought of anyone being cruel or unkind to children.

What is the next step for the company?

We are launching our first HARDLY EVER sister site in March due to huge demand from sellers who want to list their high end high street items, so our days are very long and manic but it couldn’t be more exciting!

Check it out, www.hardlyeverwornit.com

With the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, there’s a lot to celebrate in 2012 and we want make-up that rises to the occasion too, whatever the weather. In the spirit of Cool Britannia, jane iredale® has commissioned a limited edition PurePressed base compact, perfect for adding a touch of patriotic glamour to the festivities! Each compact is hand-painted in a contemporary red, blue and white design.

Come rain or shine, you can ‘Keep Calm and Powder On’ with jane iredale® pressed mineral foundation. Officially rated as highly water resistant and with the Skin Cancer Foundation’s Seal of Approval for its SPF20, looking good and lasting long comes naturally to this skin-friendly mineral make-up.

The refillable, mirrored compact is available at a special price of £29.95 including the foundation of your choice from a range of 24 shades. (A filled compact usually retails at £39.95 and refills cost £29.95).

jane iredale® is available from salons and spas nationwide, and selected online outlets. For more information about the jane iredale range of mineral cosmetics, made without fillers, fragrance, chemical dyes or synthetic preservatives go to www.janeiredale.com, or call 020 8450 7111 for your nearest stockist

Stella McCartney - Signer Yoga Sketch

This special online auction is a warm up to the Charity’s 6^th Annual Art Auction:  “RAISING THE ROOF” which takes place on Tuesday 15^th May 2012 at Notting Hill’s Twentieth Century Theatre. Collectors and contemporary artists including Damien Hirst, Mark Quinn, David Hockney, Tracey Emin and David Bailey have all donated works which hope to raise over £150,000.  The artwork will be auctioned by Sotheby’s auctioneer, Edward Rising with assistance from TV presenters Arlene Phillips and Gaby Roslin.  With the support of honorary patrons Samantha Cameron and Trudie Styler the auction is set to be a high profile evening.

Proceeds from the auction will go towards the renovation of the charity’s new premises in West Hampstead which the charity will move into later this year.  This will establish The Special Yoga Centre as the largest yoga therapy centre of its kind in the UK providing invaluable support for children with cerebral palsy, down’s syndrome and epilepsy.

Founder and Director of the Charity, Jo Manuel says: “The art auction is the main fundraising event of the year and this year is extra special. The Centre’s move to West Hampstead will provide us with a ground floor space, accessible to wheel chair users and providing facilities children and families are in dire need of.”

The Special Yoga Centre provides yoga therapy with an emphasis on children with special needs, as well as training courses, one-to-one yoga therapy, outreach work in schools throughout the UK, group classes and parent support groups.

The yoga centre is a registered charity and a centre of excellence for the training and facilitation of yoga therapy for children as well as being a regular yoga centre for hundreds of adult members.

The centre offers over 70 open classes a week to the public which helps raise money for their yoga therapy programmes for children with special needs.   Alongside support from loyal members, the special yoga centre plays host to annual fundraising events, which raises awareness and finances for the services they offer to children with special needs and their families. Yoga Therapy is offered on a donation basis and no family or child is ever turned away.

The centre supports children with conditions including cerebral palsy, down’s syndrome, prader-willi syndrome, hemiplegia, autistic spectrum disorder (asd), epilepsy, add, adhd and other physical and developmental difficulties.   Regular weekly sessions are held at the centre with an allocated yoga therapist who uses a personalised approach to meet the individual requirements of each child. This programme offers a step-by-step integrated system of yoga poses, specialised breathing exercises and deep relaxation.  The intention is to assist each child to feel comfortable and peaceful within themselves.

For further insight into the work of the special yoga centre, please watch the video on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYeInOQPNUI

Tickets to the main auction are £60.00 and there is an early bird price of £40.00 available up until 20^th April by calling 0208 968 1900 or email:candice@specialyogacentre.org.uk

Please visit www.specialyoga.org.uk for full details on how to log on to the online auction.

Specialist bean company Easy Bean is celebrating Fairtrade status for a third product – its delicious, improved recipe Spanish Puchero pot. The award-winning Spanish Puchero – Fairtrade white beans with Riojan chorizo, sweet red pepper and rich smoky pimentón – is the perfect standalone choice for lunch or, equally, will taste delicious served with crusty bread or rice for a more substantial evening meal.

A Puchero is a hearty, sustaining hotpot eaten across Spain and South America and is named after the bulbous earthenware pot in which it was traditionally cooked.

Easy Bean meals, hand-prepared in the foodie haven of Castle Cary, Somerset, are available from Waitrose stores, Booths stores plus independents and online via Ocado.com, Waitrose.com and naturalgrocery.co.uk

Spanish Puchero has been awarded a Gold Great Taste Award as a mark of recognition of its quality. And no wonder. Its artisan chorizo is made to a traditional Riojan recipe and contains just four ingredients – pork, paprika, garlic and salt.

The Pimentón de la Vera is an oak-smoked paprika and has the protected Designation of Origin status. Its name means ‘the real Spanish Paprika’ and it’s sourced from the Extremadura region of Spain. Air-dried ham from Trealy Farm in Monmouth is another artisan ingredient used in the recipe.

These premium ingredients give an intense richness to the sauce and, in turn, complement the white and creamy Fairtrade haricot beans which are grown by the Jurihe Zhaluteqi farmer association in Inner Mongolia.

Easy Bean was established in 2007 by the ‘Queen of Beans’ Christina Baskerville. Her meals, inspired by her work with bean farmers in different countries around the world, promise ‘Lunch on the go or supper in a mo’.

Christina said: “In keeping with our aim to Fairtrade as many of our recipes as we can, we decided to work on improving the Spanish Puchero recipe as well as introduce the delicious creamy white Fairtrade haricot beans.

“We were looking for a rich ham base to the recipe which, in Spain, is achieved by using Serrano ham bones in the stock. Trealy Farm produce the most wonderful charcuterie and with the help of their delicious air-dried ham we believe we have achieved the richness we were looking for.”

The Spanish Puchero pot contains 291 kcals and has two of your five-a-day vegetable portions. It has no artificial additives, colours, flavourings or preservatives.

Christina adds: “Spanish Puchero is hand prepared in small batches in our Somerset kitchen using the finest natural ingredients. Beans have more fibre than many wholegrains, are virtually fat free and are high in protein. Our meals are as tasty as they are healthy.”

“As a farmer’s daughter and having worked closely with farmers in Africa and Latin America who grow the crops I know how hard the work is and how vital it is that producers receive a fair deal.”

Easy Bean already enjoys Fairtrade status for two of its pots:

African Palava A delicious West African hotpot of Fairtrade brown beans, free range chicken, peanuts, sweet potatoes and spinach. The range of tastes and textures inspired the product’s name – Palava, which in West Africa means talking profusely or a business meeting.’

New Mexican Chilli This includes Fairtrade red beans with sweet peppers, tomatoes, spiked with the jalapeño chilli; a classic combination known to aficionados in the state of New Mexico as a ‘Bowl o’ Red’.

www.easybean.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/EasyBean

Old man Winter has finally left the building, but the toll he’s taken on your skin can stick around for a few more months. The dry heat in your home, coupled with the cold weather can really wreak havoc on skin leaving it dull, cracked and let’s face it – a bit like sandpaper.

Say goodbye to those over priced exfoliants. Here’s a super easy (and cheap) way to slough off that dull exterior and make your skin as supple as a baby’s – without spending a small fortune!

SUPPLE AND SEXY SKIN

What you’ll need:

White or Brown table sugar

Your fave body wash

Almond oil

You’ll want to do this at night. Your skin will be most receptive if it has a few hours to really absorb the almond oil.

Take a nice hot shower.

Fill the palm of your hand with half sugar and half body wash.

Scrub yourself down in sections, replacing the sugar and body wash when the sugar has dissolved.

Pay extra attention to your knees, elbows, heels and anyplace else that feel rough.

Rinse off well.

When you step out of the shower – towel off gently leaving your skin still damp.

Massage in the almond oil generously.

Throw on your pajamas, and drift off to slumber.

When you wake up in the morning your skin will feel AMAZING and reborn!

Blasphemy you say???

Your body is a survival machine – meaning that it’s FIRST priority is to make sure you don’t keel over from starvation. Fat is your body’s safety net. It keeps reserves incase of emergencies, like back in the caveman days when food wasn’t always easily accessible and you needed extra energy to run away from that Sabre-Toothed Tiger chasing you. This ancient programming is written into our DNA, and unless you’ve got more than 10lbs to lose, it plans on holding on to it. The key to losing those pounds of fat is to consume GOOD FATS.

GOOD FATS

Good fats are found in foods like avocados, seeds, nuts, olives, olive oil, and coconut oil. These foods give your body the fat it needs to survive without weighing you down – literally. Giving your body these GOOD FATS, will allow the body to give up the pounds of BAD FAT you want to lose.

Good fats make your skin soft, curb your cravings and help your brain function – so load ‘em up, and lose the fat!

• Soybean oil
• Corn oil
• Safflower oil
• Walnuts
• Sunflower, sesame, and pumpkin seeds
  Flaxseed
• Fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, sardines)
• Soymilk
• Tofu

• Olive oil
• Canola oil
• Sunflower oil
• Peanut oil
• Sesame oil
• Avocados
• Olives
• Nuts (almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews)
• Peanut butter

*Remember, anything in excess is bad for you. A handful of almonds = one serving.

A few Myths and Facts for you….

Myth: All fats are equal—and equally bad for you.

Fact: Saturated fats and trans fats are bad for you because they raise your cholesterol and increase your risk for heart disease. But monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are good for you, lowering cholesterol and reducing your risk of heart disease.

Myth: Lowering the amount of fat you eat is what matters the most.

Fact: The mix of fats that you eat, rather than the total amount in your diet, is what matters most when it comes to your cholesterol and health. The key is to eat more good fats and less bad fats.

Myth: Fat-free means healthy.

Fact: A “fat-free” label doesn’t mean you can eat all you want without consequences to your waistline. Many fat-free foods are high in sugar, refined carbohydrates, and calories.

Myth: Eating a low-fat diet is the key to weight loss.

Fact: The obesity rates for Americans have doubled in the last 20 years, coinciding with the low-fat revolution. Cutting calories is the key to weight loss, and since fats are filling, they can help curb overeating.

Myth: All body fat is the same.

Fact: Where you carry your fat matters. The health risks are greater if you tend to carry your weight around your abdomen, as opposed to your hips and thighs. A lot of belly fat is stored deep below the skin surrounding the abdominal organs and liver, and is closely linked to insulin resistance and diabetes.