Friday Treat: Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Some gems, some wine and some hearts...

Mother’s Day is round the corner and a good opportunity for us to celebrate mothers and mother figures in our lives. I’m almost never with my mum on Mother’s Day so there’s no going out for lunch or tea – instead, I have to get inventive with things I think she’d like. This said, I have a very organised mum – I suspect she will already have a list of what each of us can buy her (I have one brother and one sister) so it’s quite hard to ‘surprise’ her. I’ve done a quick top three (non-beauty), all budgets suggestions with women and family at the centre for anyone you feel needs recognising for being caring and/or brilliant.

Starting with this beautiful Zodiac bracelet – how pretty is it? - from independent jeweller, Zohreh V. I love small strands and as many as I can gather on my wrist. They never seem to get tangled like fine necklaces do so I like to have plenty going on. I’m Capricorn (and very typical – always climbing (like the goat) but never reaching the destination because the nearer I get the further I put it – exhausting but here we are) so that’s the symbol you see here. The Capricorn zodiac sign, symbolized by a sea-goat (half goat, half fish), symbolizes a creature of nature, adaptable and capable of being adaptable and pragmatic, and is often associated with Enki, the god of earth and life. Capricorni apparently comes from the Arabic word for 'the kid'. I will take this over Greek mythology and the story of Pan, god of the wilderness and half man, half goat, who transformed into a sea goat to escape the monster Typhon. Typhon was pretty nasty – a monstrous serpentine giant and one of the deadliest creatures in Greek mythology – yikes, who knew? The myth goes that Pan jumped into a river with the intention of transforming into a fish and swimming away from Typhon. However, in a stroke of terrible timing, he transformed too soon and ended up top half goat, bottom half fish. And, that’s how we get to the sea-goat in Greek Mythology. I prefer the Persian version!

Zohreh V. Jewellery was launched in 2018 by Luisa Vasseghi (above), following her career as a jewellery buyer for a well-known store. With an established expertise and passion, Luisa has created an accessibly priced (real) gold collection with pieces that never fade. She's a woman after my own jewellery heart because she loves stacking rings and layering necklaces. I am so full of admiration that she has 17 ear-piercings! Everything is designed in London and sustainably sourced. The brand is named for Luisa's Aunty Zohreh, which is a Persian name, and you will see Persian influence throughout the collections. The Zodiac bracelets are £160 in recycled gold and £55 in recycled Sterling silver but I have 20% off them for you using BBB20 at checkout HERE .Do take a wander around the Zohreh B website though - so many pretty things. I thought maybe it’s a nice idea to add a print out of the Greek legends behind your chosen symbol. I’m never looking at the zodiac in the same way again.

Next up, Bettys With Love Butter Biscuits. I’m a big fan of Betty’s, spending part of my childhood in Yorkshire where it’s has saintly status when it comes to a good tea. However, the origins of Betty’s begin in Switzerland when young Swiss baker and confectioner, Friz Butzer, travelled to England to establish a business in 1907. He spent his first night in Bradford station, but found work at a (luckily) Swiss owned confectioners, Bonnet & Sons. Settling eventually in Harrogate, and changing his name to Frederick Belmont, he styled himself as a ‘chocolate specialist’. Two things happened in Harrogate that changed the course of Frederick’s life. The first was finding lodgings and marrying the landlady’s daughter, Claire, in 1919.

The second was financial backing from Claire and her family which meant the first Betty’s opened for business. There are now six Betty’s tea rooms (I’ve been to two) which have not been without incident – one was bombed (but saved by a passing van driver acting as a fire watcher) and another was requisitioned by the army who soon changed their minds when they realised that Frederick was supplying 20,000 meals and drinks a week and contributing to the war effort. Frederick died in 1952 leaving his legacy to his nephew and before Betty’s lost its apostrophe and became Bettys. Nobody knows why – it’s a punctuation mark lost to history. The biscuits are £13 HERE. Well done, Claire!

Chateau de Rousset Les Bambines Rose Wine. When in doubt, order a Cote de Provence. It’s the most reliable of pink wines and I’ve never had one that’s undrinkable. This is my favourite of all wines and I discovered it at The Ham Yard Hotel when meeting a friend for dinner. It was outrageously expensive but oh, so delicious, and I kept going back just for the wine. I mean, The Ham Yard was something of a PR hang out so if I was taken to dinner, I often suggested there – I wasn’t literally hanging outside hoping for a sip! There is only one distributor of Les Bambines in the UK – Pierre Hourlier – and of course, without the hotel mark up, it’s much more affordable. Longer time readers may remember that when I ordered my first ever dozen bottles of any wine ever, Les Bambines, it got dropped at the warehouse and I had to wait a whole year before I could order any more as I’d ordered the very last bottles. The label feels appropriate for Mother’s Day. Chateau de Rousset is in south east France and has been in the Emery family since the beginning of the 19^th century. Management is undertaken by Roseline and Hubert Emery, joined in 2003 by son Thomas and his wife Camille. In researching, I see that you can go as a tourist to see the vineyards – I can’t go: I’d never leave. At £14.95 a bottle, this wine is such a treat and it slips down so easily and lightly I would suggest two bottles, minimum. I save mine for special occasions and for ‘treat’ days when I think I need something truly lovely in my day. Find it HERE.