The Coach House

SPRING INTO ACTION with HELEN YEMM

We loved hearing and talking to Helen Yemm. In her words she is ‘…just a passionate muddy-gloves-and-wellies gardener blessed with the gift of the gab...’, but to regular Saturday Telegraph readers her Thorny Problems column provides essential information all wrapped up with a barrowload of humour and good sense.

BEE KEEPING FOR BEGINNERS

Cotswold apiarist, Tanya Hawkes, has kept bees for over 20 years. The morning was spent on theory and then after a delicious lunch we all donned our bee suits and went on a hive inspection. Everybody was able to have a go handling the bees on the frames - thankfully there were no stings to put people off and by the end of the day there were definitely some who decided that bee keeping was for them.

OPTIMUM NUTRITION

There is no doubt that we are what we eat. Catherine Chichester from Village Barn (http://www.village-barn.com/) shared her encyclopaedic knowledge about the importance of food and nutrition in health and well-being, and how to set up our bodies for radiant health. Catherine dispel led myths about food and gave us practical tips on how to get the best nutrients daily, including sprouting and juicing.

GEMS AND JEWELLERY

Two leading jewellery designers, Esther Eyre and Kristina Charrington brought their expertise to a morning of gems and gemology.

Esther Eyre talked about stones from NATURE'S RAINBOW - AN EXPLORATION OF THE WORLD'S SEMI PRECIOUS STONES. Although trained primarily as a formal goldsmith, Esther enjoys using the cornucopia of semi-precious stones to create exciting blends of colour and texture, resulting in pieces that are not just jewellery but a wonderful and unique accessory.

Similarly, Kristina Charrington has been creating jewellery of exquisite quality for over 20 years. Both she and Esther brought examples of their work and discussed design, happily advising on more contemporary or traditional settings and how long forgotten heirlooms can be transformed by imaginative remounting.

FROM PLOT TO PLATE

Picking vegetables from your garden does wonders for the soul - let alone the mind, body, taste buds and bank balance. Merry and Chipps (people, not lunch) inspired their audience to grow and cook their own demonstrating that anyone with the smallest patch of ground can banish the supermarket salad bag forever.

WAYS WITH SUMMER FLOWERS

Charlotte Gabb harnesses the beauty of the garden in her arrangements of summer flowers. In a morning brimming with summer colour and scent, Charlotte taught us about the conditioning of cut flowers, combinging colours and we watched her at work, before creating our own masterpieces to take home.

LEARN TO LOVE YOUR LAPTOP There is a world in your laptop. Andrew Ward gave us an enjoyable, informative and practical day to help us make the most of our laptops, leading us through basic laptop management including music, video, telephone, photos, office tools and other web based services.

LIGHTING AND SOUND AT HOME

John Cullen Lighting is the leading name in discreet lighting, and as one of their Senior Designers, Jo Mann will explain how creative lighting techniques can transform your house and garden. Gibson Music have been pioneers since 1985 providing multi room music systems, communications, security systems, home cinema and automation solutions. Gibson Music embraces innovation and offers clients solutions in a world of ever changing technology.

COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS - Katie Dashwood

Picnics and Alfresco Fare
Balmy summer days and evenings call for food that appears as if by magic - time is too precious to be chained to the cooker.

Something for the Weekend
This day took us through a weekend of entertaining - something for everyone and every occasion.

Domestic Gods
Katie demonstrated surprisingly easy ways to impress the goodess in your life.

Game On
The surfeit of game which abounds during the season is a challenge. Katie showed us how to make the most of fur and feathered species in a whole range of innovative and inspired ways. Pies with suet crusts, terrines, timbales and out of the ordinary sauces - all star turns.

Fish...not just for Fridays
Katie showed different ways with fish - from tuna tartare to mighty mussels and many other deceptively easy delicious fishy dishes.

Teaching teenagers
Katie teaches teenagers the basics of cooking, arming them with the knowledge to rise above baked beans and takeaway pizza when faced with feeding themselves. 17/18 year olds are the most suited in terms of willingness and concentration!

SARAH RAVEN Gardener, writer, broadcaster, cook, is the expert on all things to grow, cut and eat from your garden. Her way with vegetables is so much more than serried ranks of roots - Sarah incorporatesflowers to eat and enhance, trials the best leaves for the ultimate salad and pioneers new growing methods, favouring lengths of guttering over traditional seed trays sarahraven

RODDY LLEWELLYN
Pruning - Roddy opened the window on this vast and thorny subject, and after a bit of (amusing) theory, we donned wellies for a hands-on demonstration
Innovative Ideas and Creative Effects - Roddy showed us unusual effects using everyday partnerships to prolong and enhance colour and interest in the garden

BOB BROWN - SO MANY PLANTS, SO LITTLE SPACE In his inimitable style, Bob sorts the men from the boys in the world of plants. His nursery and website cgf.net is a treasure trove  - a testament to his life long love of the very best plants to grow in our gardens.

BASIC PLUMBING Many of the mysteries of plumbing were revealed and at the end of this very popular morning everyone felt able try their hand at changing a washer, reseating a tap and even balancing their radiators.If you are lucky enough to live near Shipston on Stour, Shipston Bathrooms is the place for you - Bill Price is the plumbing supplier from heaven and his friend Norman will undertake any plumbing jobs. shipstonbathrooms

LEARN TO MAKE SUSHI Emmanuel from YourSushi taught us the different ways of preparing fish, vegetables and rice - no more supermarket sushi for me!

ANNE MARIE EVANS - BOTANICAL PAINTING It is difficult not to go over the top describing Anne Marie's celebrated way of teaching the Art of Botanical Painting. World renowned as one of the leading tutors, we were so lucky to welcome Anne Marie to the Coach House.

AN INTRODUCTION TO COLOUR AND STYLE Much more than a 'Does my bum look big in this?' Louise Walker explained how colour and different styles can make or break our appearance and gave us guidelines to help us analyse our shape and the styles which would suit us most - guiding us to the shops and designers most suited to us as individuals. For more information visit charismaconsultants

GET TO KNOW YOUR DIGITAL CAMERA Nick Meers has been commissioned to photograph over 30 travel books and for the past 20 years has photograp[hed many architectural and garden locations for the National Trust. Nick shared his knowledge with us and taught us to push the boundaries on our digital cameras. nickmeers