Flower filled Summer opera gardens

Summer opera festivals are a time to appreciate the joys of music and nature. Seasonal opera venues are usually in the grounds of magnificent country houses, each with their own uniquely beautiful gardens.

Italian is the traditional language of opera, so it’s hardly surprising that many famous opera gardens have a distinctly Italian flavour.










Garsington Manor’s Italian Garden Pool is one of the most romantic spots to share a pre-opera picnic, amongst classical style stone statues, whilst enjoying sweeping vistas over the Oxfordshire countryside.





Although the opera is moving to pastures new next year, you’ll still be able to visit the garden through the National Gardens scheme, as well as local events.

The house and gardens were restored from near dereliction by the wonderfully eccentric Lady Ottoline Morrell and her husband, Philip, who mixed with London’s Bloomsbury set in the 1920s. Lady Ottoline, a six foot tall redhead sounds curiously fascinating. She was described by Vita Sackville-West as, “a very queer personality…with masses of purple hair, a deep voice, teeth like a piano keyboard and the most extraordinary assortment of clothes, hung with barbaric necklaces… a born
bohemian.”


I was wondering about her exploits as I took a stroll around the kitchen garden, sipped a glass of champagne beside the pretty dovecote, and soaked up the scent of classic passion red coloured roses…









Grange Park Opera in Hampshire is rather different, sitting as it does amidst a working agricultural estate, owned by the Baring family. Lord Ashburton apologized for the curious appearance of surrounding fields this year, as sheets of biodegradable wrap covered the maize crop to prevent damage by late frosts...




Ingeniously, the plants grow up through the cover, which eventually disintegrates into the soil. You can see the difference in the amount of greenery that’s visible from these two photographs, taken only a week apart.








Although GPO, as it’s affectionately known, isn't quite so Italianate, it’s got some really dramatic features, like the stunning cedar tree, which becomes ever more magical as the light fades in the evening.











I’m also especially fond of the little twinkling trees at twilight, but then I’m a sucker for anything sparkly.







The opera season at Glyndebourne has an altogether more international following, but the gardens are decidedly English.









Artists in residence have also added their unique touches to the landscape and house, in the form of paintings, photographs and sculptures – like Nic Fiddian-Green’s imposing monumental horse heads.




Here you’ll spot elegantly dressed opera goers picnicking by the lake, beside a field of sheep (grazing on the other side of the the ha-ha), or under the monkey puzzle tree.












Others wile away the afternoon by wandering around the grounds, enjoying the authentic charm of country garden style and the natural beauty of the Summer flowers.






If you’re London based, Holland Park has its own opera season, whilst The Garden Opera company hosts events across the country, including London – they’ll even put one on in your back garden, if you so desire.







By the way, when it comes to finding appropriately dressy accessories for a grand operatic occasion, may I suggest some of the exquisite handmade wooden rings by the Maggio sisters at ShopCurious. With delicately hand painted images in the style of Old Master paintings, each of their Italian garden inspired rings is a one-off work of art. They’re great as special gifts and keepsakes too, especially if you're keen to revive fond memories of flower filled Summer opera gardens.

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Exhibition in right royal fashion

Not only is the House of Hardy Amies the pinnacle of stylish decoration, but it also has a wonderful energy and a lovely staff - with the potential to be the source of inspiration to aspiring Amies’ of the future. Moreover, to celebrate the first visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the house in July 1950 (when she was still a Princess), a new exhibition in the Archive Room at No.14 Savile Row features previously unseen sketches, documents, original pictures, letters and garments belonging to members of the House of Windsor. When I took a sneak preview, I found myself signing the visitors’ book directly after members of the Windsor family...





‘The House of Windsor in the House of Hardy Amies’ was officially opened by HRH Princess Alexandra at the end of June 2010 and can be visited until the end of the year, by appointment only. The exhibition features rare sketches of creations produced over 40 years of collaboration with HM The Queen as well as original and duplicate items made for The Queen and other members of the Royal Family – including HRH Princess Michael of Kent (a muse to Sir Hardy Amies), Lady Diana and the Duchess of York. A photograph of the house’s latest muse, Lord Frederick Windsor, is also on prominent display.

One of the main highlights is an incredible giant-sized album, in which Amies collected images and swatches of the various outfits worn by The Queen over a period spanning several decades. This provides a curiously fascinating history of royal dress though the years, as well as an insight into the media coverage of fashion and social reporting during the period.






Amies’ interest in maintaining the photo journal appeared to wane in the latter years, as evidenced by the increasing dearth of photographs in the oversized album...









and the replacement of carefully handwritten pen and ink italics beneath old fashioned cuttings from the daily press by haphazardly placed Post-it notes, atop picture stories from the likes of Hello Magazine.



What I really love about the Amies house is that’s it’s a place of real character. It also seems to reflect the essential character of its clientele – even HM The Queen: The warmth of her personality, along with genuine sincerity and kindness, positively shine out from the letters exchanged between Her Majesty and Sir Hardy Amies.

The house is full of quirky curiosities, like the collection of royal biscuit tins, similar to the ones available at ShopCurious, celebrating HM The Queen’s Coronation in 1953, royal weddings and other regal occasions. Apparently, the heirloom tins were used by Hardy Amies’ couture seamstresses to store their buttons and sewing threads – and now they take pride of place amongst the exhibits.









If you’re able to a secure a place on one of the exclusive private viewings, I’d highly recommend a visit to this extraordinary showcase of our national heritage. What’s more, this retro royal fashion extravaganza is bang on trend.

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Musical interlude

I was invited to see the musical Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Tuesday. What an evening! On a balmy (aka hot and sweaty) Summer night, we were packed into the auditorium with hundreds of tourists, school children and noisy fans. But the show was great – in fact, I was curiously surprised at my reaction to a popular art form that I might otherwise have gone out of my way to avoid.








I was particularly impressed by the interior of the neo-classical building, with its grand staircases, wide corridors and roomy bar spaces, which were a pleasure to behold: Spacious, elegant and redolent of a bygone era of theatrical splendour, adorned with ornate cornicing, gilt framed paintings, and high ceilings with dramatic antique light fittings.



Afterwards, at a dinner held in the magnificent Garrick Club, cast members including the show’s star, Russ Abbot, were in attendance. It was here that I asked Russ where he had learned to sing. Turned out that years ago he’d sung in a backing group, along with a fellow backing singer – none other than Mr Elton John!







I was genuinely surprised at how good a singing voice Russ Abbot has - and he seems to be a really nice guy too. In this production, he makes the role of Fagin his own, adding his trademark style of wit and contemporary interest to Dickens’ curiously insightful storyline.










This is a very entertaining performance and well worth seeing if you get the chance. The sets are also amazing, with backdrops of Victorian London that include St Paul’s Cathedral and quirky British touches, like Bill Sykes’ aggressive little bulldog.


Yesterday, I also discovered that the ingeniously arty Nananapgirl, winner of the Curious Paper Dolls contest held by Are you ShopCurious? at Polyvore had received her prize – a pair of vintage Christian Dior sunglasses. Apparently, they made her look like Elton John, so she’s given them to her son’s finacee, and says, “Who knows where these vintage treasures have been before their trip out to Australia, but they will soon set out for a wedding in Canada and then the new owner’s one in Las Vegas, where they will be splendid.”

Anyway, I’m so pleased these shades have found a good home - and that their cool retro style can be appreciated across the generations... Talking of which, I was also struck by the curious fact that Elton seems to be popping up a lot in the conversation lately. I hope you don’t mind…

Do you?

Flowers, fashion and photography

This is not the Chelsea Flower Show, but the new flower inspired exhibition by seven world class photographers at the Diemar/Noble Gallery in London is well worth a visit.

There’s no doubt that flowery decoration is currently in vogue. However, dismiss from your mind the rails of frilled and floaty floral dresses currently filling our chain stores, and distinguished purely by their prosaic Polyester prettiness.

Aside from their innate beauty, flowers are often awarded allegorical significance by curious minded creative types, and are subject to all manner of intriguing artistic interpretations - as in the fascinating works on display in this show:





Photographer Lisa Creagh wanted to combine the handmade elements of detailed and painstakingly constructed handicrafts (like needlework, lace making, quilting and crochet) with the digital possibilities of twenty first century photographic software.




She sought not only to capture the moment, but to also reflect the ‘rich and elaborate patterns of decorative arts… associated with the seasons and cycles of birth and death’ in her ‘Instant Garden’ collection. One of her digitally stylized photographs (above) is based on the design of a floral Persian carpet, with softly lit flower petals, reminiscent of those in Dutch Still Life paintings.

Neeta Madahar photographed her friends alongside plants whose flowers have women’s names, such as Poppy, Orchid and Primrose. Photographs in her Flora collection are styled in the fashion of vintage Hollywood glamour images, with a little bit of a modern twist.













The sitters for the photos suggested the emotions they wished to convey through their portraits. However, a theme central to all is the rejection of conventional fashion models: the photos are a comment on the requirement for women to live up to fantasy ideals of the female form.



This curiously evocative composition (right) by Dora Maar reminds me of Audrey Hepburn, who was often photographed together with flowers. However, the unique oversized 1930s print on show at Diemar/Noble Photography is of Assia, Maar’s favourite model.

Maar herself, admired in the art world for her avant garde and surrealist imagery, is actually most famous for being the sitter, muse and partner of Pablo Picasso and, of course, ‘The Weeping Woman’.











28 Day Flower Diary by Kate Owens is a series of digital bouquets that mirror Victorian floral arrangements, which were used to express unspoken feelings. Owens wished to make visible the physical, sexual and emotional effects of the menstrual cycle. She wanted to contrast the uncontrollable forces of female nature with attempts to repress emotional urges through occupations such as floristry which, in the past, were seen as a way of keeping women occupied and out of trouble.




My, how times have changed! Nevertheless, expressing a love of all things floral is something that’s probably been a constant through the ages.

Anyway, if you’re a flower fancier, you should definitely check out the Italian garden inspired hand painted bangles that are newly available at ShopCurious – and do pop into the gallery to see these fabulous photos, and many more too.

Will you?

Popping back to happy days

Happy were the days when children needed no more than a seat at Saturday morning pictures and a bag of popcorn to keep them occupied. Pop art immortalized the popular culture and characters of the 1950s and ‘60s in all manner of colourful cartoon style images, reflecting the growing celebritization of film stars and artists, as well as an increased awareness of modern convenience products – along with our childlike curiosity for all things new.








As the pace of social and commercial change speeded up, those who had grown up in, or were inspired by distinctly more laid back times, found a role model in the character from Happy Days known as Fonzie (played by unlikely heartthrob Henry Winkler) – one of the most decidedly cool guys on the planet, who actively cultivated slow style to get things done more effectively.




Despite his James Dean style appearance and rebellious swagger, The Fonz was a big softy at heart and gained fans from all sorts of unexpected quarters. Old school French teachers even adopted his cult greeting (‘Eeeeeeeeey) to instruct pupils on the pronunciation of ‘e’ with an acute accent.

The Happy Days series was screened from the mid 1970s into the early 1980s and harked back to an age when family fun, fashion, movie stars and motorcycles were popular features of daily life. Curiously, little has altered in this respect, except that family structures and moral values seem to have changed dramatically within a relatively short space of time...




Perhaps that’s why slow retro style is regaining popularity and pop art accessories - like the uniquely stylish hand painted jewellery by the Maggio sisters at ShopCurious – are back in vogue.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to more Happy Days ahead.

Are you?

Designer water...Portobello style

The London Festival of Architecture may have passed you by, but there have been all manner of events going on in London over the past couple of weeks. One of the most memorable was hosted by Tom Dixon, who held a discussion dinner in conjunction with Blueprint Magazine at his new Dock Kitchen restaurant in Ladbroke Grove (the Kilburn end).






The theme of the talk was Water Works – A discussion of the influence of water on Britain’s architectural landscape – with speakers that included Nick Johnson of Urban Splash and Keith Brownlie of Wilkinson Eyre.

Gwyn Miles showed how the addition of a floodlit water feature, with choreographed fountains, has transformed the courtyard - formerly the Inland Revenue’s car park - of Somerset House (where she is Director) into a space that’s refreshingly serene by day and magical to observe at night.



Of course, Tom Dixon’s own studio is also on the water at Portobello Dock, along with his newly opened restaurant. And, curiously enough, the acclaimed young ex-River Café chef, Stevie Parle, also lives on a houseboat on the River Thames a couple of miles away.















The kitchen’s fare was suitably water sourced, with crisply succulent deep fried samphire as an appetizer - eaten outdoors on a perfect Summer’s evening with arty, architectural types.

















Round and about was also evidence of all sorts of eco-friendly activity – everything from organic grow bags to a bamboo bicycle.






















Some be-suited city folk, arriving straight from a hard day’s work in the office, chose to hide behind their menus.

Our starter of crayfish from the River Avon cooked in crazy water, looked mouthwateringly beautiful, but turned out to be the seafood equivalent of quail.






As we fiddled about searching in vain for something meaty to get our teeth into, I began to understand why the restaurant was so popular with the celebrity model set (apparently Eva Herzigova had dined here earlier in the day).








Next up was trout from the River Wye, which melted in the mouth, even though it was barely cooked. The assembled crowd wolfed it down – must have something to do with creatively open minds having an unsqueamish sense of adventure - or perhaps it’s just that lovers of contemporary design have great taste in everything?








The accompanying side dish was something called ‘freekeh’ – which, despite the freaky name, was utterly divine. The tart that followed was pretty delicious too, with Provencal cherries to die for (possibly the only ingredient that wasn’t from our shores).






The meal was nicely washed down with specially filtered water, along with popular favourites from the winelist. Needless to say, Tom is working on an inventive new purification system involving charcoal.

As night drew in, Tom’s famous lamps began to glow and unusual lighting effects began to trickle out across the canal.

I began to wish I’d worn a glow-in-the-dark goldfish necklace from ShopCurious.










I was also thinking that I could easily get used to the naturally calming effect of a waterside lifestyle – which is just as well, since I already live by the river.

Do you?