Woven With Gold Strings: "If a book is worth reading......"

Thursday, May 8, 2014

"If a book is worth reading......"

Brantwood is a place Sarah and I like to visit as often as we can. It is the former home of John Ruskin and is situated on the eastern shore of Coniston Water in the Lake District.

I had my second solo photography exhibition in the Severn Studio at Brantwood in 2007 and during 2009 Sarah volunteered in the gardens before embarking on her horticultural career.

To launch a new book by David Ingram ‘The Gardens at Brantwood: Evolution of John Ruskin’s Lakeland Paradise’, Brantwood held an open day on Saturday and asked if I would take a few photos to record the day. The head gardener, Sally Beamish, was also presented with an award by the PPG for her many years of loyal service to the gardens.

If you ever need some time out from a busy life, there is nothing to beat a wander around the house & gardens, a walk up to Crag Head, cogitate on an art exhibition or Ruskin's legacy and then a cuppa tea & a slice of cake on the terrace at the Jumping Jenny Cafe while looking across the Lake to the Old Man! And what better way to arrive and depart than by boat!

The Old Man, 2014

David Ingram, Trellis Walk, Brantwood, 2014

Steam Yacht Gondola, 2014

Brantwood House, 2014

Sally Beamish receiving her award, 2014

David Ingram signing his new book, 2014

Making light work of packing up, 2014

Crossing over to Brantwood
on the Coniston Launch, 2007

Crag Head summit, 2007

Coniston Fells from Crag Head, 2007

Relaxing in the Painter's Glade, Brantwood, 2007

Coniston Water & the Old Man, 2001

1 comment:

Sarah McCormackMay 8, 2014 at 5:26 PM
These bring back many memories from over the years, thanks David. Beautiful pictures, as ever.
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Thanks.
David.

Woven with Gold Strings

When we found ourselves without our beloved Smeagol, we realised how much we missed the company of a cat. He had been with us both for fifteen years and I had got him when he was just eight weeks old. Smeagol passed away in March 2012, he would have been twenty years old that year!

We decided to plant an acer tree and bury his ashes under it. We found the tree we wanted from Abi and Tom's Garden Plants, a Kinran acer. Tom told us Kinran translated to Woven with Gold Strings.

Whilst we were deliberating about getting another cat and whether another cat could replace Smeagol, a stray cat started paying visits to our garden. He looked very young and was remarkably similar in appearance to Smeagol. He took to sleeping under Smeagol’s acer tree by the back door and when he finally decided to come into our house, he took to sleeping on his chair too!

Nearly one year later, Strider is as much a part of our home as Smeagol ever was.

I recently started a blog about how my Mum & Dad met and married in India. There are so many wonderful old black & white family photos of us all as children and of Mum & Dad when they were younger. Sunlight from the Nilgiris is about our history. As much as I enjoy writing about these old photos from our past, I’ve decided I also want to write about and show photos from more recent times, including today and tomorrow.... and it’s not just about cats!