The Old Rectory, Wherwell |
A selection of writings, speeches, photographs and events as well as some of my favourite literary passages.
Monday 1 July 2013
Favourite Gardens - Wherwell Village Gardens
Tuesday 18 June 2013
Favourite Gardens - 5 Burbage Road
5 Burbage Road |
I have long wanted to visit the garden at 5 Burbage Road, open only once a year under the National Gardens Scheme, but have never succeeded. This time I decided to e-mail the owners and ask to visit privately, and was extremely happy when they agreed. Rosemary Lindsay herself showed us around, which made the visit even more fascinating, and I was able to take lots of photos.
The garden is brilliantly designed to seem far larger than it is, being divided into many distinct areas with trees, paths, terraces and strong planting so that one can never see the garden as whole, but is drawn further and further in while only guessing at 'what lies beyond'. It's a masterpiece of rich planting and intriguing design.
Saturday 15 June 2013
Favourite Gardens - Bere Mill
Bere Mill |
Friday 14 June 2013
Favourite Gardens - Mottisfont
Mottisfont |
Mottisfont Abbey June 2013
Mottisfont Abbey |
Saturday 1 June 2013
Destruction of the Winchester College Wingnuts
One of the mature wingnuts |
The base of one of the smaller wingnuts before felling |
I love to walk in Winchester College water meadows and over the playing fields beside the Itchen Navigation Canal in the area where Keats is supposed to have composed the 'Ode To Autumn'. In one part alongside Brandy Stream that borders the Falloden Nature Reserve, there is a line of magnificent trees, Wingnuts, that I have seen nowhere else. They were apparently planted by Graham Drew, the art master at Winchester in the 1960s; one of the school's iconic dons.
In the past few days most of them have been felled, apparently as part of an attempt to return the area to cattle grazing, a humdrum activity of little interest and originality, and certainly insufficient justification for cutting down such magnificent rare and beautiful specimens. Why could they not have been left? Cattle could shelter under their huge branches. They will apparently be replaced with willows - in which the area already abounds.
Click here for an excellent piece on the destructive work of Natural England and the Hampshire Wildlife Trust in this area by Mark Fisher in September 2009
Click here for some more photos
After writing this piece in June 2013, I discovered Chris Calidcott's beautiful book on Winchester* in which this photo and the lines attached appear as the final end piece.
Tuesday 21 May 2013
Chelsea Flower Show 2013
The Arthritis UK Garden |
The M&G Garden |
The figure from the Arthritis UK Garden - Anna Gillespie - 'To The Limit'.Click here for some more photos from the centenary show |
Farewell Tempo
Tempo, the stylish Italian restaurant owned by Henry Togna in Curzon St, has sadly been sold. Inspired by the restaurant he admired most, the River Cafe, and with a Japanese chef, (Yoshi Yamada, who won the Barilla Pasta Championships in 2012), Tempo became a haven for those who enjoyed its inventive and relatively inexpensive food, its beautiful Rococo upstairs bar and the invariable presence of the owner whose genuine charm and patent good nature (in an industry somewhat lacking in both), made one want to return time after time.
A delicious salad tiede made for a vegetarian friend |
It's a great pity that it has been sold, and we can only hope that Henry decide to will spread his magic elsewhere.
Ananda Ledoux and Angela Altini |
Click here for some a selection of photos taken at Tempo over the years
Tuesday 7 May 2013
Thursday 25 April 2013
Edward Lawford 1782 - 1844
Edward Lawford of Eden Park |
My ancestor, Edward Lawford, was an interesting cove. Solicitor to the East India Company and sometime Clerk to the Drapers' Livery Company, he made a substantial fortune and had a large family at his estate at Eden Park, in Kent.
Having acquired a rare portrait of him badly damaged, I asked Christian Duke (Kiki) to try and restore it to a reasonably viewable state, but she did such a beautiful job of repair that the damage is undetectable and it can now hang in its rightful place. Not only that, but the cleaning has revealed a much finer background landscape than before. I can't endorse her work and delightful personal service more highly. Herry Lawford - Stockbridge, Hampshire.
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