Cheddar Gorge and Caves (and the cheese, of course!)
The little village of Cheddar gives its name to the world famous cheese and a spectacular gorge and caves that cuts through Mendip Hills in Somerset. Over a million years ago, during cold periods, the permafrost stopped water seeping through limestone, and when it got warmer, the water flowed on the surface and cut […]
Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University
As you wander around Pound Lane, between Willesden Bus Garage and Roundwood Park, you cannot fail to see people dressed all in white going in and out of the imposing building of Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University. They go there to teach and to learn how to live a spiritual life of meditation, peace and […]
A visit to the Yehudi Menuhin School
By the good fortune of Lilia’s music talent, we took part in the Open Day in the Yehudi Menuhin school in the village of Stoke d’Abernon in Surrey on 24 October 2017. In some respect, this is a typical English boarding school, but it is also a unique hub of music making, and a place […]
Potty Morris & Folk Festival
The weekend of 1 -2 July 2017 saw the little Norfolk Town of Sheringham bustling with folk dance performances. It all started in the 1990s, when the local Morris Dance group the Sheringham Lobster Potties started an annual festival with just a few visiting sides (a Morris dance group is called a ‘side’). The Lobster […]
Sheringham
The sea side town of Sheringham lies in the middle of Norfolk coastline. Its story is typical for hundreds of coastal towns around the British shores. It is likely that there was a little fishing village there in the Anglo-Saxon times, and when the Vikings came to settle here in 900s, they gave it their […]
Rhododendrons and Azaleas at Isobella Plantation in Richmond Park
In late spring one corner of the huge Richmond Park harbours an oasis of exotic blooms, which is the Isobella Plantation. This woodland park was created in the 1830s, when former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth, then the Deputy Ranger of Richmond Park, wooded off a boggy corner of the park to keep the deer out, […]
Knebworth House and Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Knebworth is known far and wide for huge open air concerts of the rock starts we all know and love. Since 1974 the grounds hosted Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, the Beach Boys, Deep Purple, Eric Clapton, Elton John, to name but a few. The history of the house, however, […]
Ralph Vaughan Williams and Leith Hill Place
St. George being the Patrol Saint of England, his day, 23rd April is duly marked by Classic FM (our favourite radio station) as the day for English composers. They have played lots of them, most hardly known to the general public. Apart from a handful, who are famous internationally, and Ralph Vaughn Williams is one […]
Jousting at Knebworth House
Going round stately homes on a fine holiday weekend you can come across Jousting – re-enactment of knights in colourful armour tackling each other on horseback. This has been a popular summer theatrical entertainment from 1970s. During Middle Ages jousting had a practical purpose – preparing knights (and their horses) for warfare. This was also […]
Camellias
March is the month of Camellias. I have three blooming in my garden. Chiswick House has 32 in the conservatory alone – home to the oldest collection of camellias under cover in England. Camellias come from Eastern and Southern Asia. Botanist Karl Linnaeus, who classified all our plants, named it after the missionary and botanist […]
