Fylde Fields Olive Grove and Gardens
I have been doing some more work on my parent’s website for their olive grove in New Zealand. Chris did a great job on the original site and I have tweaked and added information to make it a bit more comprehensive. There are still some areas that require more work to bring it up to scratch before I point their web address to but it this stage it needs some reviewing and constructive criticism. Have a look and tell me what you think.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Out and about...
Claremont Landscape Gardens
Claremont gardens are what is left of a larger estate that was once one of the most impressive properties in Surrey. The ground works, lake and expanses of tree-lined avenues are very popular with families of young children, who like to play in the park-like areas. We went up to the belvedere and looked out across the countryside from Heathrow to central London. The grounds are not too large and so after we had a stroll around we decided to continue on to the nearby Wisley.
RHS Wisley
We are RHS members and when we make the occasional visit to Wisley it is usually on the member’s only day. This time we went on a Saturday and we were totally taken aback by the numbers of other people their. Wisley are working on a program of works by adding a huge new glasshouse that is soon to open. And along with that they have greatly increased the car parking facilities to accommodate the expected visitors. The gardens were looking very good in their early summer colours and the walk around was very pleasant.
BBQ
Although we have not managed to have a BBQ at home we have enjoyed being invited to others. We had a nice afternoon at some old friends of ours that live near Redhill and had a good time catching up with everybody in the sunshine. Our new neighbours also invited us to a BBQ at their place and we had a lovely evening with the added advantage of only having to stagger next-door.
Abinger Fair
Summer in the villages means fates and fairs and we went recently to one near us. It had a friendly community spirit and was situated in the picturesque village of Abinger Common on the common itself between the church and the pub. It was a very pleasant experience, although we didn’t stay long as we had other things to do.
Claremont gardens are what is left of a larger estate that was once one of the most impressive properties in Surrey. The ground works, lake and expanses of tree-lined avenues are very popular with families of young children, who like to play in the park-like areas. We went up to the belvedere and looked out across the countryside from Heathrow to central London. The grounds are not too large and so after we had a stroll around we decided to continue on to the nearby Wisley.
RHS Wisley
We are RHS members and when we make the occasional visit to Wisley it is usually on the member’s only day. This time we went on a Saturday and we were totally taken aback by the numbers of other people their. Wisley are working on a program of works by adding a huge new glasshouse that is soon to open. And along with that they have greatly increased the car parking facilities to accommodate the expected visitors. The gardens were looking very good in their early summer colours and the walk around was very pleasant.
BBQ
Although we have not managed to have a BBQ at home we have enjoyed being invited to others. We had a nice afternoon at some old friends of ours that live near Redhill and had a good time catching up with everybody in the sunshine. Our new neighbours also invited us to a BBQ at their place and we had a lovely evening with the added advantage of only having to stagger next-door.
Abinger Fair
Summer in the villages means fates and fairs and we went recently to one near us. It had a friendly community spirit and was situated in the picturesque village of Abinger Common on the common itself between the church and the pub. It was a very pleasant experience, although we didn’t stay long as we had other things to do.
More of wot I have seen…
The Devil Wears Prada
In my opinion this is pretty much an uber-chick-flick with attitude. Sue enjoyed it probably more than I did, but then it is obvious that my understanding of fashion is limited. There is some more detail at Wikipeadia on this film too.
The Prestige
This was more my bag, and even though it has Hugh Jackman in it Sue couldn’t manage enough enthusiasm to watch it through. There are some loose threads and unanswered questions in the script which might be deliberate by the director (though if you read some of the discussion boards there are a lot of people who are over analysing this film). Some elements we a little overdone and some our skipped over too lightly, but over all it is a very good film. The highlight for me is David Bowie as Tesla. Wikipeadia on this film.
In my opinion this is pretty much an uber-chick-flick with attitude. Sue enjoyed it probably more than I did, but then it is obvious that my understanding of fashion is limited. There is some more detail at Wikipeadia on this film too.
The Prestige
This was more my bag, and even though it has Hugh Jackman in it Sue couldn’t manage enough enthusiasm to watch it through. There are some loose threads and unanswered questions in the script which might be deliberate by the director (though if you read some of the discussion boards there are a lot of people who are over analysing this film). Some elements we a little overdone and some our skipped over too lightly, but over all it is a very good film. The highlight for me is David Bowie as Tesla. Wikipeadia on this film.
More of wot I have heard…
Another Run around the Sun by Ben Taylor
This is another album that we bought on the strength of a single track. Sue was keen on a song that was being played on the radio and so we investigated and found his latest album. His sound will be familiar to any old folkies as it is very similar to his father James Taylor. The whole family is musically inclined as his mum is Carly Simon and his sister Sally is also a musician. It is nice easy going music even if it is just a little bit ‘samey’ throughout.
This is another album that we bought on the strength of a single track. Sue was keen on a song that was being played on the radio and so we investigated and found his latest album. His sound will be familiar to any old folkies as it is very similar to his father James Taylor. The whole family is musically inclined as his mum is Carly Simon and his sister Sally is also a musician. It is nice easy going music even if it is just a little bit ‘samey’ throughout.
More of wot I have read…
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
An interesting and quite odd little book that was nevertheless entertaining. I have heard that it has already been made into a stage show and is slated to be turned into a film. There is a cute website that acts as a promo for the book that is worth a visit. Wikipedia has more information about the Life of Pi including some of the controversy regarding the theme of the story and other similar books.
'By Suzy Hansen August 1, 2002
"Jesus, Mary, Muhammad and Vishnu, how good to see you, Richard Parker!" Pi Patel cries when he sees an old friend struggling aboard his lifeboat. Pi's scrambling of faiths probably won't win him the affection of any of those religious figures. But then again, in Yann Martel's "Life of Pi," our hero Pi (yes, as in 3.14, though his full name is Piscine, the French word for "pool") has just survived a sinking ship in the Pacific Ocean and witnessed the death of his family. Anyone in his position would be rejoicing to multiple gods at the sight of an old friend -- even if this feisty Richard Parker character is actually a 450-pound Bengal tiger.
And anyone facing Pi's outrageous plight -- a skittish zebra, vicious hyena and lumbering orangutan join the castaway party for what ends up being 227 days adrift in the (large) lifeboat -- would need the help of all the gods they could summon from the skies. Martel's "Life of Pi" might sound ridiculous, but by the time Martel throws Pi out to sea, his quirkily magical and often hilarious vision has already taken hold. (After all, this is, as Martel promises us, a "story that will make you believe in God.") Martel frames the novel as the reminiscences of an older Pi as recorded by the author and intermittently offers his own observations of this curious Indian man. The device works: Martel is so mesmerized by Pi that one can't help but be enchanted too.
As Pi explains, in his Indian hometown of Pondicherry, the local priest, pandit and imam, as well as Pi's parents, had many objections to his penchant for collecting religions. But as Pi reasons in his typically idiosyncratic way, "Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat-wearing Muslims." When he observes how Muslims pray, he says, "Why, Islam is nothing but an easy sort of exercise ... Hot-weather yoga for Bedouins." His naiveté can be silly, but ultimately it's an open-mindedness, a way of turning things upside down to see them differently, that serves him well.
Eventually, Pi's family flees an unstable India, where his father runs a zoo, heading for Canada, and bringing various animals along with them on a Japanese cargo ship. It's on this voyage that their happy ark mysteriously sinks. Luckily, Pi possesses a nonreligious kind of understanding and faith that allows him to survive on the lifeboat with four animals not known for their compatibility. Pi's father taught him that the most dangerous creature in the zoo is "the animal as seen through human eyes ... It is an animal that is 'cute,' 'friendly,' 'loving,' 'devoted,' 'merry,' 'understanding.'"
Yet, while Pi knows about the ferocity of the beasts, he's also familiar with the quirks of the animal kingdom that often befuddle humans peering in from outside. Sometimes goats can get along just fine with rhinos. A mouse can live with vipers: "While other mice dropped in the terrarium disappeared within two days, this little brown Methusalah built itself a nest, stored the grains we gave it in various hideaways and scampered about in plain sight of the snakes." Likewise, if handled carefully, a ravenous and terrified Bengal tiger will spare the life of the only human in sight.
Pi's lost-at-sea story never drags. The slow journey is spiked with fascinating survival scenes, as when Pi and Richard Parker meet a school of flying fish: "They came like a swarm of locusts. It was not only their numbers; there was also something insect-like about the clicking, whirring sound of their wings." Pi attempts to catch the fish for food; the tiger is better at it: "Many were eaten live and whole, struggling wings beating in his mouth ... It was not so much the speed that was impressive as the pure animal confidence, the total absorption in the moment."
Pi's story is so extraordinary that when he finally makes it ashore, he offers a comparatively boring version of the tale to two researchers, acknowledging that humans don't have much of a taste for the miraculous. This played-down version makes Pi's true tale, thanks to Martel's beautifully fantastical and spirited rendering, all the more tempting to believe.'
The Constant Gardener by John le Carré
This is a good book from a master writer of political intrigue and conspiracy stories that is well written and believably detailed where the main characters are flawed and human and battle as much with themselves as they do with the frightening circumstances they find themselves in. I understand the film adaptation of the book is very good too.
While on location filming the movie the cast and crew decided to set up a welfare trust, called The Constant Gardener Trust.
‘The Constant Gardener is a magnificent exploration of the new world order by one of the most compelling and elegant storytellers of our time. The novel opens in northern Kenya with the gruesome murder of Tessa Quayle – young, beautiful, and dearly beloved to husband Justin. When Justin sets out on a personal odyssey to uncover the mystery of her death, what he finds could make him not only a suspect among his own collegues, but a target for Tessa’s killers as well.
A master chronicler of the betrayals of ordinary people caught in political conflict, John le Carré portrays the dark side of unbridled capitalism as only he can. In The Constant Gardener he tells a compelling, complex story of a man elevated through tradgedy, as Justin Quayle – amateur gardener, aging widower, and ineffectual bureaucrat – discovers his own natural resources and the extraordinary courage of the woman he barely had time to love.’
An interesting and quite odd little book that was nevertheless entertaining. I have heard that it has already been made into a stage show and is slated to be turned into a film. There is a cute website that acts as a promo for the book that is worth a visit. Wikipedia has more information about the Life of Pi including some of the controversy regarding the theme of the story and other similar books.
'By Suzy Hansen August 1, 2002
"Jesus, Mary, Muhammad and Vishnu, how good to see you, Richard Parker!" Pi Patel cries when he sees an old friend struggling aboard his lifeboat. Pi's scrambling of faiths probably won't win him the affection of any of those religious figures. But then again, in Yann Martel's "Life of Pi," our hero Pi (yes, as in 3.14, though his full name is Piscine, the French word for "pool") has just survived a sinking ship in the Pacific Ocean and witnessed the death of his family. Anyone in his position would be rejoicing to multiple gods at the sight of an old friend -- even if this feisty Richard Parker character is actually a 450-pound Bengal tiger.
And anyone facing Pi's outrageous plight -- a skittish zebra, vicious hyena and lumbering orangutan join the castaway party for what ends up being 227 days adrift in the (large) lifeboat -- would need the help of all the gods they could summon from the skies. Martel's "Life of Pi" might sound ridiculous, but by the time Martel throws Pi out to sea, his quirkily magical and often hilarious vision has already taken hold. (After all, this is, as Martel promises us, a "story that will make you believe in God.") Martel frames the novel as the reminiscences of an older Pi as recorded by the author and intermittently offers his own observations of this curious Indian man. The device works: Martel is so mesmerized by Pi that one can't help but be enchanted too.
As Pi explains, in his Indian hometown of Pondicherry, the local priest, pandit and imam, as well as Pi's parents, had many objections to his penchant for collecting religions. But as Pi reasons in his typically idiosyncratic way, "Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat-wearing Muslims." When he observes how Muslims pray, he says, "Why, Islam is nothing but an easy sort of exercise ... Hot-weather yoga for Bedouins." His naiveté can be silly, but ultimately it's an open-mindedness, a way of turning things upside down to see them differently, that serves him well.
Eventually, Pi's family flees an unstable India, where his father runs a zoo, heading for Canada, and bringing various animals along with them on a Japanese cargo ship. It's on this voyage that their happy ark mysteriously sinks. Luckily, Pi possesses a nonreligious kind of understanding and faith that allows him to survive on the lifeboat with four animals not known for their compatibility. Pi's father taught him that the most dangerous creature in the zoo is "the animal as seen through human eyes ... It is an animal that is 'cute,' 'friendly,' 'loving,' 'devoted,' 'merry,' 'understanding.'"
Yet, while Pi knows about the ferocity of the beasts, he's also familiar with the quirks of the animal kingdom that often befuddle humans peering in from outside. Sometimes goats can get along just fine with rhinos. A mouse can live with vipers: "While other mice dropped in the terrarium disappeared within two days, this little brown Methusalah built itself a nest, stored the grains we gave it in various hideaways and scampered about in plain sight of the snakes." Likewise, if handled carefully, a ravenous and terrified Bengal tiger will spare the life of the only human in sight.
Pi's lost-at-sea story never drags. The slow journey is spiked with fascinating survival scenes, as when Pi and Richard Parker meet a school of flying fish: "They came like a swarm of locusts. It was not only their numbers; there was also something insect-like about the clicking, whirring sound of their wings." Pi attempts to catch the fish for food; the tiger is better at it: "Many were eaten live and whole, struggling wings beating in his mouth ... It was not so much the speed that was impressive as the pure animal confidence, the total absorption in the moment."
Pi's story is so extraordinary that when he finally makes it ashore, he offers a comparatively boring version of the tale to two researchers, acknowledging that humans don't have much of a taste for the miraculous. This played-down version makes Pi's true tale, thanks to Martel's beautifully fantastical and spirited rendering, all the more tempting to believe.'
The Constant Gardener by John le Carré
This is a good book from a master writer of political intrigue and conspiracy stories that is well written and believably detailed where the main characters are flawed and human and battle as much with themselves as they do with the frightening circumstances they find themselves in. I understand the film adaptation of the book is very good too.
While on location filming the movie the cast and crew decided to set up a welfare trust, called The Constant Gardener Trust.
‘The Constant Gardener is a magnificent exploration of the new world order by one of the most compelling and elegant storytellers of our time. The novel opens in northern Kenya with the gruesome murder of Tessa Quayle – young, beautiful, and dearly beloved to husband Justin. When Justin sets out on a personal odyssey to uncover the mystery of her death, what he finds could make him not only a suspect among his own collegues, but a target for Tessa’s killers as well.
A master chronicler of the betrayals of ordinary people caught in political conflict, John le Carré portrays the dark side of unbridled capitalism as only he can. In The Constant Gardener he tells a compelling, complex story of a man elevated through tradgedy, as Justin Quayle – amateur gardener, aging widower, and ineffectual bureaucrat – discovers his own natural resources and the extraordinary courage of the woman he barely had time to love.’
The prodigal son…
Jamie paid us a flying visit the other weekend so that the family could celebrate his 21st birthday and shower him and gifts before he returned to Uni. He came down with his flat mate and University Rugby friend Golly as he has the added bonus of having a car.
Sue and I went shopping before they arrived and filled the car to the gunnels and emptied the back account as we found all the treats that Jamie might like. As he was only with us for a couple of days he had to take most of it back to Hull with him.
We were planning to have a BBQ having bought new patio furniture and a BBQ, but as luck would have it was cold and wet so Sue did all the cooking inside and we had a great buffet spread. The chocolate cake Sue made was an enormous construction, three sponge layers high with chocolate cream filling and a thick covering of rich chocolate icing all over – Jamie left me a single slice and it took several days to finish just that.
Sue and I went shopping before they arrived and filled the car to the gunnels and emptied the back account as we found all the treats that Jamie might like. As he was only with us for a couple of days he had to take most of it back to Hull with him.
We were planning to have a BBQ having bought new patio furniture and a BBQ, but as luck would have it was cold and wet so Sue did all the cooking inside and we had a great buffet spread. The chocolate cake Sue made was an enormous construction, three sponge layers high with chocolate cream filling and a thick covering of rich chocolate icing all over – Jamie left me a single slice and it took several days to finish just that.
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