The Malvern Gardening Show

I loved the Malvern Gardening Show - not exhibited at this type of show before, so it was quite a gamble but one that I think will pay off. I was in the Country Living Magazine's marquee, along with some really lovely people - it makes such a difference when everyone is so friendly and helpful. 
I allowed 2 days to get to Malvern and set up the stand - I like the more relaxed start to a show, and it gave me time to have lunch with daughter Emma in Birmingham. 
The stand went together really well which surprised me

and gave me a chance to wander around the showground. These are some of the gardens I liked, but I'm told that there weren't as many as in previous years - these are mostly the Chris Beardshaw Mentoring Scholarship gardens.

 

 

Once upon a time there were Three Little Pigs

And the Three Little Pigs I'm keen on is this lovely shop in Pershore, Worcestershire, who've been stocking my work since the start. I can now convincingly say that this really is a lovely shop because I visited it last week. Deceptively tiny from the outside, but what treats await you when you step through the door.

New to Three Little Pigs is their blog, written in part by Noah - this will be one to follow I think, as I have a feeling that Noah will have some good stories to tell.

Pershore, itself, is a place worth visiting with its Abbey, the river Avon, the bridges and lots more besides. 

I had a good wander around the abbey and along the river - just what was needed after a busy few days at the Malvern Gardening Show, more of which will follow later.

Another school reminiscence

Having just listened to the Food Programme on Radio 4, I am reminded of another special aspect of the school I was sent between ages 8 and 11, and that was the mulberry tree.

This was the most tremendous tree on one of the lawns, and it fed the school silkworms every year. We would pick leaves every morning and watch as the soft white caterpillars grew and grew - this was a joy through the summer term. Heaven only knows how they didn't all escape from the shoe boxes!

We weren't allowed to eat the mulberries themselves (but of course we did, and they were delicious!) - probably something to do with staining our uniforms.
But then the school holidays would happen and we never saw the full cycle through - I've no idea whether they were allowed to hatch into moths or were turned into silk thread; I'm assuming that at least some went on to hatch in order to produce the eggs for next year.

Sadly the school has been demolished and the mulberry tree is also no more.

There's heaps of information on mulberry trees here - I'm inspired to look into whether our soil conditions would suit growing one. Does anyone know? We're in the Waveney valley along the Norfolk/Suffolk border.

(I've one more reminiscence for another time....)

May - a time to celebrate the work of nurses

Now that we have a student nurse in the family we have become aware of International Nurses Day which is celebrated on May 12^th, the birth date of Florence Nightingale.

It seems that this is quite controversial as some would argue that she is no longer representative of modern nursing, and would prefer the day to be celebrated perhaps on May 21^st instead, being the birth date of Elizabeth Fry who founded the Institution of Nursing Sisters.

However, the day seems to be established for May 12^th – a day to celebrate the hard work and dedication of nurses throughout the world. 

Each year there is a service at Westminster Abbey, London, to commemorate the life of Florence Nightingale and celebrate the nursing profession. A lamp is handed from one nurse to the next and finally to the Dean who places it on the High Altar. This signifies both the passing of knowledge from one nurse to another, and Florence Nightingale’s nickname of Lady of the Lamp.

Many hospitals, day care centres, hospices etc hold fund raising and awareness events around this time – coffee mornings, open days etc.

Forget- Me- Not Village

The forget-me-nots are just beginning to flower in our garden. Without fail these little flowers take me right back to when I was 8 years old when I was sent away to school.

At this school we had a woodland area at the top of the grounds where adults were not allowed. It was called Forget-Me-Not Village and was where we, as children, were free to go after school during the spring and summer. The path up to the woodland was full of forget me nots; the woodland itself had been modified by, presumably the school gardener - paths were cut around the trees leaving the trees standing on little islands. Each island was a house, and each year we children put ourselves into little make believe families. Holly leaves were our currency when we went shopping. We had to wear our blue smock overalls to be allowed into the village; I remember we held weddings, and we did shopping. I don't remember much else except for the darkness of the woods and the beautiful mass of blue flowers along the path.

Most of the children at the school came from families in the forces overseas or from broken families, so I don't know how happy a place this village was for everyone. I suspect that it was a perfect escape for some, and very sad for others. My own memories are not of families and make believe, but of tranquility and calm.

I only have one card design at the moment, but you can see it if you click here

I'm looking forward to watching these lovely little blue flowers blossom - with all the sunshine at the moment, they should do well in the next few days.

Story from the British Museum

Well, we all love a story and this is one I learnt from chatting to 2 guys in the breakfast queue at the Business Design Centre, Islington, during the recent Country Living Show:

These guys were in the catering dept of the museum, and reminded me of the coffee machines with a push button to dispense the drink. Yes, I knew them, because they worked there at the same time as I did, in the 80's. 

In the mornings they would bash the machines about with rolling pins and then vacuum up all the cockroaches that fell out. The coffee was supplied in frozen blocks (I won't mention the brand!) made up of coffee and animal fat (beware all you vegetarians!) - 250 cups were made from one small block. The cockroaches were addicted to the caffeine and loved the animal fat.

As if that wasn't enough, these guys went on to tell me that if any of the concentrate got spilt, it would strip the surface off the tiles, and staff would have to wear protective gear to clear it up!

All I can say is, thank goodness I worked in a basement miles away from the staff canteen, and we had our own kettle.

Simnel Sunday

We celebrate Mother’s day every year, but I’ve never thought to find out more about it.

Mothering Sunday can also be referred to as Simnel Sunday, as a reference to the baking and serving of Simnel cakes, which are said to be a symbol to celebrate the holiday of Lent. The word simnel most likely comes from the latin “simila”, meaning fine, wheaten flour, but I much prefer the story of Simon and Nell; there is a legend that a husband and wife, Simon and Nell, argued over the best method to make a Mothering Sunday cake. In the end they decided to both boil and bake the cake, and so the cake was named after both of them; Sim-nell.

I’d like to be able to say that I’ll be attempting to cook a traditional Simnel cake for my mum, but I’ve had a quick look at a recipe and I can safely say that my very limited cooking skills mean that this most definitely won’t happen. I’ll stick to fairy cakes. For those of you who want to try baking the real thing, there's a recipe here

If you’re still looking for a present or card for Mother’s day then make sure you check out our website, where we have plenty of original cards and gift ideas.

Blog post by Emma