Reporting From The Chelsea Flower Show...

I am off to the Chelsea Flower Show tomorrow

Celebrating its 100th anniversary,

the grandest flower show on earth is this week

(photo from last year)

Armed with a press pass in hand for the private 'celebrity day',

I may catch a glimpse of Prince Harry due to his involvement 

in Sentebale's 'Forget Me Not' Garden

and who knows who else I'll see :)

It is speculated that due to Prince Harry's participation,

tickets sold out in record time this year

and scalpers are asking a whopping £500 per ticket

I'm excited to view the Lady Slipper, 

Britain's rarest orchid, which has security surrounding it

And there are sure to be stunning and innovate installments

which never disappoint year after year

I can't wait to share it all with you :)

Stay tuned over the next couple of days

for unforgettableness :)

- photo by me -

Source: The Telegraph

To Do London: Jamie Oliver Cooking Class

Jamie Oliver has taken the world by storm

with his cookbooks, television shows, and products

Passionate about improving the quality of food in schools,

he also is excited about his cooking classes offered

in his Recipease cafes/storefronts

- two London locations, one in Brighton -

We selected the Vietnamese Street Food class 

which lasted 1.5 hours

In this gorgeous venue

we prepared our meal from scratch 

with an interesting blend of fresh ingredients

This is what we made

[Photo from Recipease website]

Not only was the food delicious,

but the vibe was really fun

all under the guidance of a professional chef

(not Jamie, unfortunately)

With many menus from which to choose,

I'll be back to Recipease to whip up some more yummy dinner ideas

First photo by me

(an unsponsored post)

English Bluebell Beauties

Growing in ancient forests,

the bluebells are at their peak right now

A breathtaking blue mist
carpeting the forest floor...

The English bluebell is a protected species

found happily growing in ancient woodlands

and particularly fond of blooming under beech trees

And it is well known fact they attract little fairies :)

English bluebells have a graceful curve to their stalks 

due to the weight of their flowers lying on the same side of the stalk

Spanish bluebells are more upright, mainly in gardens, and tend to be more invasive

This year was the first time I'd seen these girls under a cloudless sky,

and, my, how they emitted the most heavenly sweet scent 

released by the warmth of sunlight

With half the bluebell population residing in Britain,

you may not need to travel far to drink in all this deliciousness

Glug, glug :)

- all photos by me -

The Polo Season

Savoring local sports, 

we made our way

to a polo match

Knowing nothing about the sport,

we were happy we brought a smartphone

to educate ourselves during the day

We were surprised by how casual the event was

and that some of the teams were co-ed

We sat in metal bleachers

and bought our food/drink from the nearby caravans

Costing just £5 for the 'picnic ticket',

we found it to be very affordable

The announcer had hilarious commentary

We even helped with 'divot stomping' at half-time

just like in the film 'Pretty Woman'

All in all,

a great way to spend a few hours with the family

- photos by me -

Venue: Ham Polo Club

(an unsponsored post)

Giddy For Spring

Spring has arrived!

Lifting everyone's spirits

from such a long dreary winter,

everyone has a new spring in their step

This brave neighbor filled a bed with Forget-Me-Nots

I suppose they are so easy to pull out of the ground

and happy to reseed, 

why not?

Beeeaaauuutttifulllll!

This is a long holiday weekend

and the sun is shining,

so I'm running out the door to be outside...

Have a great weekend!

- photo by me -

From Wigs To Windows

Ever wonder why those 18th century wigs went out of fashion?

Here's a good little story...

George III (wikipedia)

The fashion in the day for men was horsehair (or goat) wigs,

which tended to be scratchy and bug infested

They were powdered with finely ground starch

scented with orange flower, lavender or orris root

When the government started to tax wigs to help fund

the American War of Independence,
men started to ditch the wigs
and just powder their own hair by the 1780s

In 1795, the government taxed the powder,

and out went the wig and powder fashion all together

Meanwhile, another interesting tax sprang up

which you still see evidence of in England 

and other European countries today

The Window Tax

Introduced by King William III in 1696,

this unpopular tax was seen as taxing 'light and air'

The thought was 

the bigger the house, the more windows it would have,

thus the more tax the occupants would pay

A house with fewer than twenty windows could escape the window tax

This tax was easy to access from the street by tax collectors

so occupants started to brick up their windows

Although the window tax was repealed in 1851

under Queen Victoria,

you still see evidence of it today

The horsehair wigs,

not so much

:)

- photo by me -

Source: Wikipedia 1, 2

A Brief History of St James's Park

St James's Park is
the oldest Royal Park in London,

the first Royal Park to be open to the public,

and it is one of the most visited parks in Europe today

 

The park is surrounded by three palaces

- St. James's, Westminster, and Buckingham -

and often has beautifully landscaped borders

Originally the park was a marshy meadow

where the River Tyburn often flooded on its way to the River Thames

Pigs grazed the land with farms and woodland in the area

 

In the thirteenth century, a leper hospital for women opened
(and gave the park its namesake)

 

Like the conversion of Hyde Park,

King Henry VIII turned the land into another deer park in 1536

with a hunting lodge that later became St. James's Palace

 

Later, King James I brought minor changes to the park

including keeping exotic birds, camels, crocodiles, and an elephant in the park

 

King Charles II acquired Green Park so he could walk
from Hyde Park to St James’s Park without leaving royal soil

 

Then in 1827 the Prince Regent (later George IV) commissioned
John Nash to design the park in a naturalistic fashion which included
winding paths, converting the canal into a lake,

and replacing Charles II's formal, French-inspired plantings to something more fashionable

The landscape design has changed little since Nash’s time

Earlier trees were burned for fuel or
accidentally burned due to out-of-control fireworks,

therefore, many of the plane trees (in the Sycamore family)
you see today in the park were planted during the 1827 redesign

In 1837, the Ornithological Society of London gifted the park various birds

The position of bird keeper and cottage (below) remain today

And those fabulous pelicans?

In 1664, the Russian Ambassador gave pelicans as a gift for the park

Just last month the City of Prague gave the park three Great White pelicans,
increasing the pelican population to six

They can be seen feeding between 2:30p and 3:00p daily

It's reported that there once was a naughty pelican
who would fly to the London Zoo to steal fish for lunch
and then return to the park

This one looks a little suspicious
:)

all photos by me

Source: The Royal Parks

(an unsponsored post)

Day Out With The Girls

A friend and I had

the perfect day with our daughters

last week

I'm not a fan of musicals,

but Matilda is the best one I've seen EVER

Based on a Roald Dahl story,

this musical oozes talent and creativity

About a girl who is mistreated by her parents and headmistress,

this dark story has a happy ending 

with snappy tunes, amazing sets, and delightful choreography along the way

We started our day off right at Sanderson Hotel

with their Mad Hatter's Tea

Complete with marshmallow mushrooms, 'Drink Me' juice, and other fun (and delicious) bites,

my daughter had a hard time deciding if she liked the musical or the afternoon tea best

I'd say it was a tie

Such a great day!

- all photos by me -

Laura Porter's review of Mad Hatter's Tea here

(an unsponsored post)

Spring Daffodil Days

This has been a tough gloomy winter

but we are now being rewarded

with 'sunshine on a stick'

Daffodils...

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

- all photos by me -

UK History In Film

Perfect for a rainy day,

why not grab a blanket

cup of tea

warm the fireplace

and watch a good film

Such an easy way to learn a little UK history

Just pick your time period :)

I've complied a list of films

listed in chronological order of film setting

Braveheart (1995) 

is a historical drama war film portraying William Wallace, 

a 13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots 
in the First War of Scottish Independence 
against King Edward I of England

Starring Mel Gibson 

(Oscar)

The Other Boleyn Girl (2001) 

is a historical fiction film loosely based on the relationships 

between Anne Boleyn, her sister Mary, and Henry VIII

Starring Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) 

is the sequel to the 1998 film Elizabeth and loosely based on events 

during the latter part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England

Starring Cate Blanchett 

(Oscar)

Anonymous (2011)  

poses the question, 'Was Shakespeare A Fraud?' 

in this political thriller and pseudo-historical drama

Starring Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave 

The Madness King George (1994) 

tells the story of George III's deteriorating mental health

and the Regency Crisis of 1788

Starring Nigel Hawthorne, Helen Mirren, Rupert Everett 

(Oscar)

Becoming Jane (2007) 
depicts the early life of English author Jane Austen 

and her posited relationship with Thomas Langlois Lefroy

Starring Anne Hathaway

Amazing Grace (2006) 

is a biographical drama film about the campaign 

against slave trade in the British Empire in 1807

Starring Ioan Gruffudd  

The Young Victoria (2009) 

is a period drama film depicting the early life and reign of

Queen Victoria and her marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Starring Emily Blunt 

(Oscar) 

Miss Potter (2006) 

is a film about children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter 

Starring Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor

Titanic (1997) 

is a fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic

One of the biggest blockbuster films ever

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet 

(Oscar)

War Horse (2011) 
is a war drama film set before and during World War I

It follows the story of a boy and a horse during the war 

(Oscar nomination)

The King's Speech (2010) 

is a historical drama featuring King George VI (Colin Firth) 

who sees an Australian speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) to cope with a stammer

Also starring Helena Bonham Carter 

(Oscar)

Hope & Glory (1987)
is a comedy drama war film 
based on the producer/director John Boorman's
experience of growing up in London during the Blitz during World War II
(Oscar nomination)

Made in Dagenham (2010)

dramatizes the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 

that aimed for equal pay for women

The Iron Lady (2011) 
is a biographical film based on the life of Margaret Thatcher, 

the longest serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the 20th century

Starring Meryl Streep

The Queen (2006)

is an historical drama film, starring Helen Mirren

who portrays Queen Elizabeth II after the death of Princess Diana in 1997

(Oscar)  

Calendar Girls (2003) 

is a comedy and true story of a group of mature Yorkshire women who produce

a nude calendar to raise money for Leukemia Research in April 1999
Starring Helen Mirren, Julie Walters

Do you have a favorite?

Info & Images: Wikipedia
(An unsponsored post)