activities indoors
Harts Barn Cookery School
Harts Barn Cookery School, The Forest of Dean’s premier Cookery School is proud to offer cooking for all, from basics to banquets – and with prior arrangement and payment, chefs can come and demonstrate to your group or help you prepare a meal, in the Upper Malt House Dining space. To book a space on any of our classes, demonstrations, holiday activities or clubs, simply download a booking form, complete, and return it by email or post.
All details, including how to pay, are on the booking form.
You can also book by calling us on 01452 830954.
Why not consider baking bread or making pizza with the whole family – to enjoy in the evening.
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Children’s Cookery Class
Children’s Cookery and Birthday Parties – do you have a large number of children in your booking? Is it a child’s birthday? Are you worried about the weather for your booking if it is in the Autumn? Would you like a chef to come on site and spend the afternoon baking cookies, making fruit smoothies and making chocolate brownies with your children?
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Tallulah Swirls Puppet Show
Amy Lloyd-Jones’s puppetry career began over 15 years ago. She has performed at, festivals, nurseries and schools, libraries, community groups, residential homes, parks and parties all over the West Country and beyond.
She makes all her own colourful and sparkly puppets and props and, with the assistance of her two young sons, writes all her own stories and scripts.
Amy continues to tour the well established and fabulous casts of old Hollywood Wild West caper “Susie Sparkle” and the eco-sci-fi inspired “Mavis And The Green Giant From Outer Space”, (see Shows). Most recently seen at Camp Bestival in the company of the brillaint House Of Fairy Tales gang.
Amy has created a NEW Shadow Puppet Show in collaboration with storyteller and musician Martin Maudsley. It is accompanied by marvellous puppet making and storytelling workshops.
Amy has also been working in Weston Super Mare, with primary school kids, making raucous rod puppets for a parade by the sea.
“I love Mavis…she’s a superhero”
Tom, age 4
“…a rollicking good show…Expertly puppeteered…endearing and delightful…”
Adam Horovitz, Glastonbury Festival (see Reviews for full version of this and all the below)
“Tallulah Swirls is fantastic…I’m a real fan!”
Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall, River Cottage Festival, Dorset
“We all loved the shows…laughed so much and have been visually inspired. I never thought
that both adults and children could get equal enjoyment out of a puppet theatre.”
Rachel Griffin, illustrator/parent, Childrens World Festival, Bristol
“There is no way our ‘Nursery and Reception story evening’ would have been half as fun without you. The children had a blast…staff all agreed that your show was of the highest quality”
Karl Hemmings, Beacon Rise Primary School, Bristol
“A sparkling performance in every way – superb visually, great sound effects and the range of characters and voices was breathtaking, especially for a one woman show!”
Kathleen Smith, Topping & Company Booksellers Of Bath, ‘Events Organizer Of The Year’
“Tallulah Swirls brought a playful and handmade energy to the puppet theatre for our area at Camp Bestival… The shows delivered powerful messages through fun and laughter. Amy and her team were a delight to work with and would be invited back whenever possible.”
Deborah Curtis, Director, House Of Fairy Tales: Child-centered, artist led project set up by artists Deborah Curtis & Gavin Turk
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In House Chocolatiere Session
Learn how to temper chocolate, to make it have that gorgeous gloss and sheen, when dipping fruits etc, and make your own truffles using chilli, ginger, herbs and spices and decorate with fresh flowers, and gold and silver leaf. Each participant will finish the session with a tray of delicious and decorated chocolates and truffles.
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Cocktail Training
Ever wanted to learn how to make a proper Mojito, using crisp, aromatic fresh mint? Or champagne cocktails such as the traditional Bellini, created at Harry’s Bar in Venice? Or become a mixologist and design your very own martini – chocolate, fresh strawberry and basil, or an other combination that you might like?
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Three Course Dinner
Choose your menu, have the tables laid for you, have your dinner served to you and large dishes put on the tables to share with your friends and family, and get the tables cleared and the dishwashers filled for you afterwards. What could be better?
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Mary Rose Young Ceramics
If you are a family celebrating a birthday, maybe you would like your family and friends to decorate a set of cups and saucers, or cereal bowls and egg cups. Or if you are a hen, maybe you would like your friends to decorate a dinner service for you. Usually £20.00 per item and per guest, the crockery and paints will be brought to the house – you will have an hour to decorate your products – and the items will be transported to be fired after the event.
Mary Rose was born near London in 1958. As a child her family moved around frequently – practically every year they moved to a new house and the children had to settle in a new school. One year was even spent in a remote fishing village in Minorca on the Mediterranean. Eventually they all settled down in the Forest of Dean, an old coal mining region of the west of England, where Mary Rose has lived ever since.
She studied ceramics at art college in Wolverhampton. Her particular interest at the time was making sculptural pieces of pottery, which were expressive representations of everyday objects. Among her successful degree pieces was a 3 dimensional “Washing Up Bowl” with saucepan handles and edges of plates protruding from a bowl of dirty water, while the first piece pictured in a magazine was a wacky ceramic filofax (then an item in its heyday).
It was only after leaving art college that Mary Rose became interested in throwing pieces at the wheel. She had moved into a farmhouse, which had many empty mantelpieces and window sills: she needed something glamorous to brighten the place up. Applying the bright colour she had used earlier onto her newly thrown pots immediately found the look she had hoped for. Needless to say her sense of fun spilled over onto the shapes and designs she was producing.
Her new range of pottery was clearly a potential source of income and from about 1985 Mary Rose began to sell from a barrow at the Dockside Arts Centre in Bristol. Her earliest deigns included the rose motif which seemed so appropriate next to her name, and the humorous, frantic chicken. The roses began to grow in a three dimensional form on the rims of vases and on the handles of mugs. Mary Rose felt that one shouldn’t have to be continually finding bunches of fresh flowers to make a vase work; why not buy a vase with its own bunch of permanent roses? She called the look “Rose Encrusted”.
In 1986 she moved out of her freezing farmhouse shed into a small “unit” which became her pottery. This was in the village of Parkend near which she had bought an adjoining pair of quarry-men’s cottages in need of renovation. While working here and still selling every weekend in Bristol she began to get signs of recognition from the outside world. There was a magazine article for South West Arts, an interview with Jan Leeming for TV, and acceptance by the Crafts Council for her application to exhibit at the Chelsea Crafts Fair.
The Chelsea shows exposed Mary Rose to all the designers and buyers in the UK but more importantly to visitors from America and Europe. She sold the stock of pottery she took to Chelsea but she also returned to Parkend with orders from retailers like Barneys in New York. This signalled the end of her days selling in Bristol.
In 1990 Mary Rose was able to relocate her pottery in her newly refurbished home “Oak House”. While making the new orders she set about decorating Oak House in designs which reflected her new vivid style. Every surface of every room came alive with paint. The gallery ceiling was striped, the dressing room floor grew roses and even the toilets and tiles became exotically coloured. This attracted interiors magazines to do features on Mary Rose alongside pages of photographs of her home. Metropolitan Home was first followed by World of Interiors, Elle Decoracion, Schöner Wohnen from Germany, and many others. At the time of writing (April ’98)The Daily Telegraph Interiors magazine is due to publish another feature within the month.
While Mary Rose’s “Rose Design” has remained very popular, she has continually expanded her range of shapes and designs. She started to use gold lustre in 1993 with a look called Jewelled and Beaded on which her intention was to make pottery which resembled a pirate’s treasure – goblets and vases encrusted with golden jewels. Gold has become a stronger theme in her range while candlesticks, mirrors, toilets and clocks have all joined the original mugs, jugs and vases.
Surrounded by the rural beauty of the Forest of Dean and the colour of Oak House, Mary Rose has been very happy to remain making the pottery that is ordered by the growing number of retailers and collectors. She also finds plenty of time to experiment with new ideas. Most recently she has started using a crown as a motif for teapots and cups and saucers, the notion is glamorous yet the interpretation humorous. Her chandelier is another creation from 2007 a giant piece composed of hand made ceramic beads. She has also continued to license some ideas to larger giftware companies and you may occasionally encounter these mass produced pieces in the High Street.
Mary Rose Young became Mary Rose Butcher in 1996 when she married Phil, a musician. Phil had most famously played as Iggy Pop’s bassist for a while and later as part of the much acclaimed darkly comic trio The Tiger Lillies. Phil suffered a brain aneurism in 1999 that has demanded a long recovery.
Despite her pottery having found its way to the four corners of the world, Mary Rose doesn’t travel around very much. She usually displays her latest pieces at the New York Gift Show every August. Her brother James Young, who acts as her business manager, will more usually be found at her several exhibitions where her radiant display will still cause passers by to draw their breath in disbelief.
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Venus Noir
Ever wanted to learn to do a fan dance, remove a long pair of gloves in a choreographed way, or twirl a pair of nipple tassles? Or learn the art of burlesque – the ironic parody of striptease made respectable during the early part of this Century? Or maybe be entertained during your evening at the Malt House? Venus Noir is a professional dancer who has performed on stages all over the UK and abroad, and who used to dance for Liz Lewitt’s Visible Agency. Venus has worked in film and television, featured in advertising campaigns and created her own characters and costumes for hundreds of different shows and classes.
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Morag Macdonald
Morag MacDonald is a respected documentary photographer and best selling author, specialising in beautiful documentary portrait photography, wedding photo-journalism and film stills.
Morag also enjoys taking actors’ head shots, studio portrait photography, boudoir photography and doing a little commercial work as well as running both beginners courses in photography and professional courses for photographers in the industry
She says “I have 3 great loves in my life. My family, my friends and photography. Since my earliest memories I have always been completely happy when immersed in photography or art – visiting talks or exhibitions or devouring books by their images.
Photography for me is more than a job – it is a way of life. I get such pleasure from observing the way light moves across a landscape or catches in a child’s eye. Photography for me is a passion. When I am not taking photographs I am running training courses, lecturing in Photography or planning my next shoot, be it a wedding, family portrait session, boudoir photography or carrying out a commercial job.
You may also speak to Jo Webster (BA, Hons) who joined me in 2006, she holds a BA in Photography and is a real asset to my business. Jo works freelance as helps to manage the studio - she is also my preferred partner to shoot top package weddings with”.
Morag MacDonald offers a broad range of photography training courses in Bristol.
From beginners courses to professional photographic training, courses include: wedding photography courses, photographic lighting courses in the studio as well as on location,urban portraiture and post production workshops.
Morag also does indulgent make-over and boudoir photography, why not look at her boudoir site (by clicking here).
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