A day of time travelling at Caerhays Castle

 

On the last day of March, I went time travelling in Cornwall. I went back to the nineteen and twentieth centuries, and then forwards by about four or five weeks to early May 2017.

It's true I can assure you. So how did I do it?

I was on a one day only whizz down to near St Austell, to the wonderful Caerhays Castle and Gardens to join about fourteen other Garden Media Guild members for a private tour of the gardens.

We met mid morning in the Cornish sunshine after parking our cars down at Porthluny Beach and walking up the hill to the castle. It was built by John Nash for the Trevanion family in 1810, carefully hidden away from the beach in case of attack by the French..

The Trevanions left the castle in 1840, and the estate was later taken over by the Williams family who were in mining. The great grandfather of the current owner, J.C.Williams, who was only eighteen when he inherited the estate, financed a large plant hunting expedition in 1911. George Forrest and Ernest Wilson set sail on a trip which was to bring horticultural treasure from the Far East, from China, back to this part of Cornwall with its own micro climate.

Charles Williams, the current owner, led our expedition around the estate,with thumbstick in hand, at a cracking pace. I was still breathing heavily after rushing up the hill in the first place, but luckily he kept stopping to show us various vistas and specimens, and I eventually got my breath back.

To be fair, I was slightly overwhelmed by the sight of so many plants , many in their prime, towering over me. Caerhayes is a triumph of how to do things on a big scale, and seeing a national collection of magnolias (about four hundred and fifty of them, plus so many camellias and rhododendrons in prime condition  in 140 acres of garden and woodland, was a surprise and a delight.

I must confess I was one of the dawdlers, and yes there were a few of us. I was trying to take everything in, and take photographs too, so that I missed many of the species names. I was writing notes too...so I believe that this is a magnolia amoena.....I just adored the shape and colour with the blush pink.

I loved this blowsy camellia reticulata dream castle

 

Even after flowering,as the petals fell to the ground,  the beautiful pink carpets had their own charms

I've never been a girly girly pink girl in my life but I absolutely adored seeing so many pinky hues, from the palest to the most shocking pinks....

But of course, I didn't just fall for the pinks...

Walking quickly to catch up with Charles who was introducing something ahead , I was really taken with these pretty flowers

All  of a sudden, a fragrance stopped in my tracks. I sniffed, I held a flower to my nose and inhaled deeply, there were hints of ginger and something I couldn't identify. It was quite exhilarating.

Likewise, a couple of hundred yards away, Charles was in  a slight dip, pointing to this....a michelia doltsopa....inviting us to come closer....".come on, what's this scent?" We all duly poked our noses close, I thought perhaps a hint of nutmeg or mace, and Charles told me I was close....it was cinnamon.
He calls his scented collection "the smellies , a somewhat rude term for such beautiful fragrances!

But don't get Charles talking about classifications of magnolias and michelias which are so closely related...he has definite ideas on some of these...and I believe the words "absolute bollocks" were mentioned at one stage concerning one of his favourites. I asked if this was a technical term  but he just grinned.

What was wonderful, was following in Charles's footsteps seeing his estate through his eyes, not being confined to the paths, tramping over the grass and primroses alike, as we darted hither and thither, learning much more than I dreamed possible in a couple of hours. Classification of plants, history, of how the estate was managed and how planning for the future of the castle grounds are an ever important concern.

Caerhays may have it's own microclimate in South Cornwall, but its proximity to the sea and the sea gales means that more windbreaks have to be grown. We were taken to a part of the gardens which was a corn field back in 2006. Since then, lots of laurel hedging has been put in to protect against the seaspray and salt, and now more azaleas have been planted as well as camellias and magnolias.

The gardens here aren't immune to damage. Many rhododenrons sinogrande  were lost in the drought of 1976, a japanese oak in the winter of 1963 and in 1990 , twenty five acres of garden were lost.

Charles then led us to a ridge where we stopped to gaze over the estate land which lay as far as we could see...a breath taking view, even though the sun had gone in, for those of us seeing it for the first time through rosy, romantic glasses. "It takes three months to cut the grass in these a hundred and forty acres" Charles said drily.

By now we were walking downhill, back towards the castle

 

We walked behind the castle, through the most inviting gate,

 

 

and found ourselves back where we had started the tour. When I said I had been time travelling a month or so, I really had. All the trees and shrubs were so much further on than in the Midlands, I was told that this year, the season is a good three weeks ahead on previous seasons and I felt as I'd missed April completely .

We wandered into the castle courtyard for lunch...most of us were hungry after early morning starts to be here. Thank goodness for cornish pasties on the menu, and we all sat chatting away madly, the way all garden fanatics and members of the Garden Media Guild do, when they've just visited somewhere with so much to look at and think about. So lovely too to be able to sit outside.

All too soon, it was time to get back on the road back north. I walked back down the hill

From the shelter of the castle, by the time I got back to the beach at Porthluny, the wind was whipping around and it was chilly with a touch of rain.  But I couldn't not come to a beach and not have a short walk on the sands, could I? Especially when I live in landlocked Leicestershire! So I did...

The perfect end to a trip to Caerhays Castle and Gardens. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time to visit Burncoose Nurseries too, which is also part of the Caerhays Estate or to find out more about the cottages on the estate which are available to rent. You can even stay in a wing of the castle or in a boathouse. Next time perhaps......

But in the meantime, a lovely day in a fabulous location  with delightful people in a beautiful part of Cornwall....thanks to James Robbins from the Garden Media Guild for organising the trip.

The gardens at Caerhays Castle is open from mid February to mid June.
 www.caerhays.co.uk

A day celebrating Adrian Mole's 50th birthday

A week ago today I was standing outside the Charles Wilson Building  at the University Of Leicester  with award winning author Bali Rai who was vaping madly. We were there to celebrate the 50th birthday of a character in a book. 

Now this wasn't just any character...it was the birthday of the wonderfully and woefully comic Adrian Mole, and what would have been the 71st birthday of his creator.

Adrian became a worldwide publishing phenomenon of the 1980's and brought success to the much loved and admired Sue Townsend who was born and lived in Leicester. Last Sunday was all about celebrating that success and to find out more about Adrian, Sue and the worlds they inhabited.

But first lunch! Bali and I went up to the restaurant and met the other speakers who would be taking part in the afternoon's talks and the reunion which I was chairing.

 

A jolly affair and a hearty meal, and wine? "Oh should I?" I wondered , and then thought "Bugger it - everyone else is having one." Which they were...to calm the nerves as one said. Cheers then...

  

 

In the morning, Caroline Holden Hotopf had held a very popular illustration workshop so she was celebrating, and as we sat next to each other at lunch, it turned out that as youngsters we had lived within half a mile of each other and in summer went to the same outdoor swimming pool. We were both in Loughborough at arts college and university. Small world.

The first session in the afternoon was devoted to Sue Townsend's work as a playwright. Introduced by Bali Rai, it featured Carole Hayman and Janette Legge who knew Sue as an emerging writer, when only a few years before, Sue a young mum of three children had been so desperately broke, she and the children used to play scavenger hunt for pop bottles so that they could get 4 pence for each bottle they took back.

 

Carole Hayman was a hoot...theatrical, full of gossip, and lovely anecdotes about her time at the Royal Court Theatre in the late 1980's, when she directed two of Sue's plays, Bazaar and Rummage and the Great Celestial Cow. They got on famously, so much so that she collaborated with Sue Townsend on the TV series "The Spinney" which sadly never made it to the screens.

Carol and Janet then read out a script from the series to the appreciation of the audience...what a missed opportunity we all thought.

Then it was my turn to chair "a Reunion" of the key figures responsible for bringing Adrian Mole, the teenage intellectual, out into the world of radio and publishing.

 

 

John Tydman the legendary Deputy Head of BBC Radio who commissioned  and directed Mole’s first radio appearance  was unwell and couldn't be there unfortunately .When I say Mole, on radio,  it was Nigel Mole aged 13 and three Quarters  who created such an impact on New Years Day in 1982. 

Colin Broadway, Sue's second husband also was unable to attend - a real shame as he suggested that Sue start a writing course at Leicester’s Phoenix Theatre. It was there that Sue learnt her craft writing plays, before branching out into writing books. Colin had met Sue when she was a single mum. They fell in love, had another child together and until Sue died, was her champion, her support and her rock, especially as her health declined. When she lost her sight, He and her son Shaun, her daughter Vicky and her editor Louise took it in turns to type out Sue’s work as she dictated her words.

The audience last Sunday loved the story of his I told about one winter he and Sue were in Spain. He came back to Leicester for a few days, and Sue’s daughter continued to work on the latest book. Unfortunately there was a power cut, Vicky hadn’t backed up the work...there was a panicky phone call back to Colin. What can we do? He said "Give Sue a vodka and tonic, a packet of cigarettes and give her ten minutes. "Vicky did, and Sue was able to recreate the lost work.

 

So Simon Dixon,  Archives and Special Collections Manager here at the University of Leicester stepped in as the first speaker. He talked about Sue's early career as writer and described the large collection of her work which is stored at the university.

 

Luckily I've had a private viewing of that collection...and it's fascinating to see early glimpses of Adrian in cheap lined exercise books on one side of a page and shopping lists....bread, potatoes on another.

To say that our next speaker had a tremendous impact on Sue Townsend and indeed on Adrian Mole himself, was an understatement. Geoffrey Strachan was the commissioning editor at Methuen in the early eighties who read an early version of the script...and he was charmed by its humour and pathos.  He knew comic talent when he saw it...and the value of diaries, after all he'd suggested to Michael Palin that there was a good book in the diaries of working on Monty Python and behind the scenes. He also commissioned Caroline Holden Hotopf to illustrate the first and subsequent books.

He also had quite an impact on the audience...what an amusing and thoughtful speaker he was.

 

Then it was Caroline Holden Hotopf's turn ...since the Adrian Mole books, she’s illustrated children’s books, picture books, grammar books, poetry books and underwater detective novels. Her work has also featured in Private Eye, The Oldie, the Sunday Times and the Law Gazette. She also writes childrens books.

She described so well what it was like for her work to be spotted in an exhibition by Geoffrey Strachan, being asked to design the book jacket and how they both decided that they wanted the readers to imagine the main characters. How do illustrators get their inspiration? Well she told us...and she mentioned chatting to Sue about places in Leicester to use as locations in the book. Apparently there was a list.

 

 

So when it came to question time, after some lovely questions by our audience, I couldn't wait to ask where the list was and where were those locations? I feel a feature coming on...and I also wanted to know just how grateful she was to Geoffrey for such a regular source of income. "Very" she said "It paid for my first flat in Stepney!"

The next part of the afternoon brought some delightful surprises, in the form of new writing from both commissioned writers and school pupils, which channelled and was inspired by Sue Townsend's work.

Pupils from two local schools were introduced by Bali Rai and their voices shone from the page as they read of their Leicester, their streets and their world. Funny, clever and thought provoking they were too.

 

 
Then there were three commissioned monologues from Maria Taylor, Marilyn Ricci and Heidi Goody and Ian Grant. Different futures and scenarios for Adrian were laugh out funny, with great one liners, which so accurately captured the wit, cleverness and charm of the original Adrian.

A new speaker came skidding in towards the end...the first actor to play the original Adrian Mole no less. Simon Schatsburger was in the original play at Leicester's Phoenix Theatre, and transferred to London when the time came, with the rest of the cast at Sue's insistence. She didn't want more famous names...she wanted her actors which she chosen. Simon spoke very warmly and affectionately about Sue, and how she looked after everyone in a series of stories which made everyone smile.



 

Then it was time to remove our bottoms from the lecture theatre seats, buy books and make our way upstairs to celebrate Adrian's 50th birthday with bunting, party food from the eighties (sandwiches, vols au vents or cheese and pineapple on sticks anyone?),

 

 

cheesy music, and above all, a birthday cake. This wasn't just any birthday cake (cue Fleetwood Mac music and imagine me doing a deep husky intro) this was a Frances Quinn, winner of the Great British Bake off, birthday cake.

 

There were even goodybags!

 

 

 

What a lovely afternoon celebrating Adrian Mole's 50th birthday - the  intellectual who sprang from the mind of a ordinary Leicester girl who endured ill health and poverty, to become an extraordinary writer whose work will not be forgotten.

 





Mind you, Penguin Books have no intention of letting that happen...not only are there delightful new editions with anniversary covers of all of the Adrian Mole books, which I am re reading with such great pleasure , there's even a new book out by Mole Press "The Collected Poems" by Adrian Mole. Inspired brilliance. Penguin, I adore ya...

 

*five of these photos are mine, the others are by courtesy of The University of Leicester.
 

A day of singing to the rooftops

Last Sunday was a cold, grey rainy day, there were even hailstones at one stage. A day for staying in bed late, and spending a day at home being warm.

That wasn't an option for quite a crowd of us who were gathering in St Lukes, a 13th century village church in Laughton, Leicestershire for a day of rehearsals, singing and recording tracks for an album. I must stress, I wasn't there to sing. Oh no, I was there to record a feature about a choir who are making an album.

St Lukes doesn't have its own choir, but through a series of serendipitous moments, church members have in a sense adopted another choir. Not just any choir though, this is the Emmanu-El Apostolic Academy Choir, also known as the DMU Gospel Choir.

I'm a huge fan of the choir, I've been hearing them sing for years around Leicestershire ....but in recent times, they've reached a national audience through reaching the finals of BBC 2 The Choir: Gareth's Best of Britain and other choir competitions.

The Academy and Choir was founded in 2003 by Bishop Mark Anderson

 

So what 's the link between a gospel choir from inner city Leicester and a sleepy, tiny country church? Well,  Kate and Willie Gilbertson Hart who live in the village invited the choir to come and sing at a Sunday service. Willie's band also performed, and the church was packed...something that wasn't happening at regular Sunday services. There's not enough people who live in the small village to do that.

 

The choir were invited back, word began to spread and a friendships were forged. The choir needed rehearsal space...Willie had it, and so a closer relationship began.

 

Singing a couple of times a year at the church, followed by long lunches cooked by Kate and friends, singing at Willie'' sons wedding, both in the church and at the riotous party afterwards, the choir have become much loved around here

 

Tom Allom, Kate and Willie Gilbertson Hart and Bishop Mark Anderson.







Record producer Tom Allom, a friend of Willie's who usually records albums by Judas Priest and other similar bands, heard the choir at the wedding and just before Christmas. He found their singing and enthusiasm infectious, and was quickly persuaded to produce a cd of the choir.

 

The cd is being made to promote the work of the choir, and to raise money to help finish the conversion of an old working men's club in Leicester into a church. Of course recording an album doesn't come cheap, so Kate and Willie have been asking their friends and supporters who enjoy coming to hear the choir to donate money to help the choir make their first album, which will in turn generate more money for the church.

 

So St Luke's Church was packed with choir members, friends and Willie's band plus

 



my friend and colleague  Amy Harris,the Leicestershire reporter at BBC East Midlands Today and cameraman Richard were there to record a piece for telly

When you hear the choir and  see them perform, it really is a revelation. Their joyous sounds raise the roof, and while you can't help but smile and tap your feet on the big numbers, their beautifully pure voices can also bring a tear to your eye. They make a mark on their audiences time after time.

It's still very early days though and this was the very first step towards the album. I don't know when it will be released or what the title will be.

In the meantime, click on this click below to listen to my radio feature  - and hear the choir rehearse....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04wfndy

 

The day Storm Doris came to my garden...

The two stories of the day nationally and locally last Thursday were Storm Doris and the sacking of Leicester City's manager Claudio Ranieri.

The winds of change caused havoc in Leicestershire and Rutland. Householders, gardeners and motorists were affected by the storm, and Leicester City fans of all ages were struggling to hold back the tears over the sudden  sacking of King Claudio, who has hero status in these here parts.

I have to say I think Claudio was a breath of fresh air...I loved his passion for the game, his catchphrases, and above all his sheer graciousness. He will be missed by many, and a couple of hundred people turned up to a peaceful march last night organised by an eleven year old to lament his leaving .

But I'm lamenting the loss of my lovely old ash tree in my garden.Yes, it's was Doris's fault.
It was such a blustery day - earlier that morning I'd tweeted that I'd been blown into a fence while walking my two dogs Boo and Eric. I also said I was nervously eyeing my ash tree and my neighbour's oak and lime trees.

Later that afternoon, there  was a flurry of texts while I was at work....from Julie first of all, "Bridget , I think your tree's coming down....", the next one was from my son, "Mum,  the  ******* tree has come down!" Yes, there was a quite rude adjective before the word tree, but when I saw the extent  of the damage later, I forgave him. I even used the word myself.

One of the huge branches was ripped from the trunk, but was caught on a lower branch which is where it lay suspended

Meanwhile there were lots of smaller branches on the grass a mere four feet away from my kitchen window

Tom, our friendly tree surgeon, couldn't get over until Saturday with his team. When they arrived, they assessed the tree. Heads were shaken, the verdict wasn't good. The tree was doomed, and work began to make it safe. It wasn't just a question of felling some of the branches to make it secure....they pointed to where water has got into the main trunk. The whole tree would have to come down.

 

 



This is where the main trunk was wrenched from the tree ... there must have been some mighty gusts of wind to do that.

 

 

 

I nipped out to take a few photos but it was raining, windy and cold, so I retreated to the kitchen with a hot cup of coffee to watch 

 

 

I marvelled at how the tree surgeon hoisted himself up, higher and higher, swinging on ropes  as he cut down branches slowly and methodically .

 



He moved even higher, I could hardly bear to watch...

 

 

 Then Tom got an urgent call ...he had to get out to a situation involving trees and BT as a matter of urgency.  I understood, he'd been covering emergencies all day, and there was another.

 

So, the tree stays like the photo above for a few more days. The branches and debris are all over the lawn, meanwhile the dogs have had great fun, running laps around the tree like they always have done, but they're now jumping the branches like hurdles.

 

All I can do is look out at what remains of a proud ash tree which was planted around ninety years ago. Sophie, my neighbour who lived across the lane remembered the event....she was born in her cottage and lived there all her life until she died in her late nineties about seven years ago.

 

Our cottage was formerly two so there were two gardens. One of the owners planted the ash tree much to chagrin of his next door neighbour. According to Sophie, "They didn't stop moaning for weeks about how daft it was to put such large tree in such a small garden , and what about my light?"

Yes, the tree did provide shade...in fact on really hot days it was lovely to sit under it, especially for lunch..

Our children played on the tree for hours when they were small. We had a tyre and a swing suspended from its branches. My daughter remembers climbing the tree for the first time, and my eldest son taking away the ladder. She was terrified and was up there for ages apparently. Meanwhile, the ladder remover himself had no fear of heights, even when he was really young, and I had to run outside on many occasions to get him to descend safely and not jump down.

Anyway, Tom will be coming back soon to remove the rest of the tree trunk, and at least we will have a good store of logs. However I can't help but remember the tree in its hey day with fondness and sadness.

 

 

My husband is now calling it the Ranieri tree...as they were both done for on the same day.

 

Unexpected days in Thailand

The first day of the New Year

The first day of a New Year. For me it's a day to look forward, to idly plan, to dream. It's that magical time of the year when it lies in front of me like a blank page, ready to be written on...a time of possibility. My friend Khush says her lovely mother had a favourite quote  "Tomorrow is the first page of a 365 page book, write a good one!"

 

 

Today hasn't been a good one weather wise. It has rained since first light, that persistent rain, coming in almost horizontally as I walked Boo and Eric. I was wrapped up with scarf, hat and waterproofs but those whips of  rain which caught my chin as we walked into the wind made me long for sunny skies. None of us enjoyed our walk today , even the dogs stopped at one stage , looking up at me as to say "you must be mad, let's get home."

 

I could only agree with them, so today we've given into the weather, and the dogs and I have been ensconced on the sofa, with Mama, my Mum in pole position on the chair in front of the fire, playing solitaire on my i pad. She's one of the generation who has always said ..."Oh I don't need the internet" but today has been different. Mama and I both love history, and earlier we were discussing who succeeded  Queen Anne, the poor Queen who lived to bury all of her children. What I didn't realise until I looked it up, that two of her daughters died of smallpox.

 

Mama was intrigued, and started reading all about on the internet. She doesn't have  a clue about how to use the i pad mind you, but I think a seed has been sown today about how much pleasure she could get from using it. Mama always loved to sit quietly playing patience, so when I offered to show her how to play a game of solitaire , she loved it and caught on quickly how to tap at the screen and play.

 

So perhaps a new journey for Mama into the big wide world of the internet? I reckon it could be a game changer for a woman who is going to be celebrating her 87th birthday on Tuesday!

 

 

For me, I'm dreaming of journeys too. Waiting for my holiday coming up soon, which will take to Thailand again. Planes, trains, ferries and buses to six different locations over four weeks. I really can't wait, because this is one of the islands I shall be staying on later this month...with such happy memories of two years ago.

 

 

 Each part of the journey will be different, some to familiar places which we already know and love , but others will be to somewhere new. Yes, there's that sense of anticipation  about whether those places will match up to our expectation, but I also want to make the most of the journeys there too.

 

 

From the ferries I will admire the coast lines and enjoy the chug chugging of the engine as we move from island to island. From  the coach and train there's the chance to catch glimpses of workaday lives , and when we get to our destinations , I'm going to savour every moment, whether I'm just gazing out to sea at sunset, people watching, swimming or laughing..

 

Getting back to Khush's Mum, her other favourite quote was "start each day with a grateful heart." A wise woman indeed and on my journey through 2017, wherever I go, I'm going to remember that too.

 

A very happy 2017 to everyone reading this blog...enjoy the journey!

Days of

When I return, my plan this year is to try and see as much of the UK as I can too. I'm not talking about a mammoth tour around the coast, or walking from Lands End to John O Groats by the way, oh no.

 

There's so much I realise I haven't seen yet, so many places which would be fascinating for a weekend away. And when travelling anywhere, Instead of the journey fastest travelled I want to slow down...and make the journey as important as the destination.

 

For example about five weeks ago I was in Hull overnight ...see here

 

We could have nipped up there and back in a day to get a visa ...but by staying overnight, we enjoyed a walk around the old pubs and a few museums savouring the city's history. On the way back too, instead of whizzing home on the motorway