1. home and garden

FAIRBRIDGE GARDEN
& ARTS SOCIETY
Supporting The Prince’s Trust inspiring young lives
NEWSLETTER
www.fairbridgegardensociety.com
Issue No 70
Autumn/Winter 2014
CONTENTS
Membership information
1
Letter from the Chairman
2
Forthcoming events
3
Report on Fairbridge Chatham visit
5
Preview of Italian gardens tour, May 2015
7
Exhibitions in and around London
8
Noticeboard
9
Diary dates
10
MEMBERSHIP of Fairbridge Garden & Arts Society (FGAS) costs
£25 per annum. Download a membership form from the website,
www.fairbridgegardensociety.com, or ring the Membership
Secretary Ruth Hayward on 020 8480 5060. Profits go to Fairbridge
Programme of The Prince’s Trust. The Prince’s Trust is a registered
charity in England and Wales 1079675 and in Scotland SCO 411.
www.fairbridgegardensociety.com
Cover photograph: detail of the 17th-century gates designed by Jean Tijou at Hampton Court Palace,
visited by FGAS on 9 October. Photograph courtesy of Historic Royal Palaces
Printed by Hot off the Press, Fulham Broadway, London SW6 1BH, www.hotoff.co.uk
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Dear Members
I am sure you will agree, September has proved to be the most wonderful
Indian Summer and the hedgerows and gardens are bursting with fruit just
waiting to be pickled, preserved and, of course, eaten! You will be able to
sample and buy some of the home-made jams and preserves made by our
members at our Christmas party, more of which later.
As many of you will know, the summer has been tinged with sadness at the
closure of our beloved garden centre at the end of August. The Prince’s
Trust took the decision to sell the garden centre, emphasising that it did not
fit with its core activities, and the proceeds from the sale would be best used
towards directly helping young people. Unfortunately, it is taking longer than
hoped to find the right buyer. Following the withdrawal of interest from Pets
at Home we can only hope that a new buyer will be found that is more
suitable for the site and better meets the needs of the local community.
Closure of the garden centre means that we have had to find a new venue
for our Christmas party. I am delighted to say that All Saints Primary
School, opposite the garden centre, have offered the use of their school
hall on the evening of Monday, 1 December. Details of our plans for the
evening will be circulated to members nearer the time but please put
the date in your diary. In the circumstances we need your support more
than ever before. I can assure you that all the profits we raise are ringfenced by The Prince’s Trust and channelled only to the Fairbridge
Programme, which helps young people stabilise their lives and build the
skills they need to move forward. This year we are sponsoring the centres
in East London and Chatham. Details on how our money is helping
the young people in these centres will be in forthcoming newsletters.
On a really positive note I am delighted to say that Capital Gardens,
owner of Neal’s Nursery Garden Centre in Wandsworth, have offered all
our members a Neal’s Nurseries privilege card which entitles holders to
a 10% discount on all purchases at Neal’s Nursery and from the website
www.capitalgardens.co.uk/neals_nuseries. We are in the final stages
of organising the scheme and enclosed with this newsletter you will find
the membership form. If you are interested in joining, please complete the
form and return it to me (see address below). I will collect all the forms and
forward them to Capital Gardens and membership cards will be printed. All
forms to be returned to me by 31 October to ensure the scheme is up and
running in time for Christmas preparations. Please send your completed
forms to: Vanessa Scholfield, 30 Clonmel Road, London SW6 5BJ.
With best wishes
Vanessa Scholfield
Chairman
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS: DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Wednesday, 15 October: 10am-12.30pm
FIRST WORLD WAR WALK WITH DIANA KELSEY
On 28 June, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated at Sarajevo, setting off a
train of events that would lead to the ‘war to end all wars’. On 4 August Britain entered that
war. The aim of the walk from Hyde Park Corner through the parks to Whitehall is to recall
the events not only of the war but those that led up to it. There are scars still left and many
poignant reminders of it in London. We will pass buildings and sites associated with it, and
we will take a closer look at the many memorials in and around the central London parks.
The walk lasts 2½ hours and ends near Westminster Tube. Depart 10am, Hyde Park Corner
Tube (Exit 1, Knightsbridge North. Meet near the bus shelters). Cost: £16. To book, please
email [email protected] or ring Di on 07714 208591 and send your cheque with the
booking form within one week.
Thursday, 23 October: 10.45am
‘LATE TURNER: PAINTING SET FREE’ , TATE BRITAIN, INCLUDING PRIVATE LECTURE
This event has proved popular, but there are still a few places for the lecture with 1.30pm
entrance to the exhibition or, failing that, a chance to attend the lecture only. Anticipating
Mike Leigh’s film, Mr Turner, released later this month, which won Timothy Spall the Best
Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival, this exhibition attempts to explode the myth that in
the last years of JMW Turner’s life his work was in decline. Nine square paintings of radical
brilliance reflect this period – also explored in the film – of great personal upheaval but of
extraordinary creativity. A total of more than 150 works are brought together, including rarely
shown paintings such as Bamburgh Castle. Meet at 10.45am at the entrance to the Clore
Foyer, to the right of the FRONT entrance with your back the river, for the private lecture
in the Clore Auditorium at 11am. Entry to the exhibition is an hour later. The Djanogly Café
just nearby is open from 10am for coffee beforehand. Cost: £30, Art Fund members, £27,
Members, £20. Lecture only, £15. To book, please email [email protected] or ring 020
7736 1066 and send your cheque with the booking form within one week. Jill’s mobile on the
day is 07840 206309.
Wednesday, 5 November: 10.15am-approx 1pm
JEWISH LONDON, INCLUDING BEVIS MARKS SYNAGOGUE, WITH DIANA KELSEY
Join a walk tracing the history of the Jews in London, from their arrival with William the
Conqueror, to the establishment of the Jewish East End. Halfway through the walk we will
have a tour of Bevis Marks, the oldest British synagogue still in use with over 300 years
of continuous Jewish worship. It survived the Blitz so has all its original furnishings. It is a
beautiful and historic building. We will then continue the walk into Spitalfields with stories of
lives of Eastern European Jews fleeing the Russian pogroms, and see the fast-disappearing
traces of the Jewish East End. For those who have time we will end with a curry in Brick
Lane. Meet for coffee at Kitchen @ Tower, Byward Street, just next to All Hallows Church
from 9.30am or by tube exit for the start time. Departs 10.15am Tower Hill Tube Exit facing
Trinity Gardens. Ends near Aldgate East. Cost: £20 (including entrance to synagogue). To
book, please email [email protected] or ring Di on 07714 208591 and send your
cheque with the booking form within one week.
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Thursday, 20 November: 10.45am-12.30pm
PARLIAMENTARY ARCHIVES, PALACE OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON SW1
Three million records are held in the Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster on 5.5 miles
of shelving. Some of the country’s most important constitutional records are stored there,
including the Death Warrant of Charles I (1649), the Habeas Corpus Act (1679), the Draft Bill
of Rights (1689) and the Great Reform Act of 1832. The Victoria Tower is an unmistakable
feature both of the London skyline and the Houses of Parliament. Designed by the architect
Charles Barry after a fire in1834 burnt down the old building, it was completed in May 1860
and is one of the first purpose-built archives in the country, housing Parliament’s historic
records dating from 1497. This is an opportunity to see examples from both Houses of
Parliament, in their original setting. The tour takes you through various storage areas to the
top of the Victoria Tower, where there are wonderful views. Because of the narrowness of the
tower, visitors ascend by a combination of stairs and small lifts. Security for this visit is tight
so allow plenty of time to gain admittance. Please bring a photographic ID. Cost: £16. Meet
by 10.45am at the Cromwell Green Visitor Entrance (just opposite Westminster Abbey on St
Margaret Street). The tour starts at 11am. To book, please email [email protected] or
ring 020 7731 0128 and send your cheque with the booking form within one week. Dottie’s
mobile on the day is 07904 257974.
Monday, 1 December: 6pm-8pm
FAIRBRIDGE GARDEN & ARTS SOCIETY CHRISTMAS PARTY
It will take place at a new venue, All Saints Primary School, Bishops Avenue, London SW6
6ED. More details will be circulated.
Tuesday, 13 January 2015: 6.15pm-8.30pm
THE COLLEGE OF ARMS, 130 QUEEN VICTORIA
STREET, LONDON EC4
A tour of the College of Arms, a handsome 17thcentury red-brick building below St Paul’s and
close to the Millennium Bridge. Since the 1100s
arms have been borne by individuals and corporate
bodies as marks of identification. Originally founded
in 1484, the College of Arms has been on the
present site since 1555. The 13 Heralds who make
up the College maintain registers of arms, genealogies, royal licences, changes of name and
flags and assist in state ceremonies. The senior Heralds, known as Kings of Arms, have been
granting arms under Royal authority since the 15th century. Norroy and Ulster King of Arms,
Timothy Duke, will show us from 6.30pm the main hall – the Earl Marshal’s Court – and the
Waiting Room, explain the history of the building and the origins of Heralds and heraldry, and
will talk about his ceremonial duties. He will then take us into the Record Room and show us
a range of heraldic and genealogical manuscripts. Afterwards, around 8pm, we will enjoy a
glass of wine in his company. Meet at the front of the College at 6.15pm when the side gate
in the railings will be opened. Numbers are strictly limited. Cost: £25.To book, please email
[email protected] or ring Jo on 020 7736 5305 and send your cheque with the
booking form within one week. Her mobile on the day is 0787 6221062.
It is essential that first you book your place, complete the enclosed booking form and send it with a cheque
made out to Fairbridge Garden & Arts Society or FGAS, to Dottie Lundell, 1 Edenhurst Avenue, London
SW6 3PD, tel 020 7731 0128. If you want a receipt, please enclose an s.a.e. Tickets are not issued.
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AUTUMN HIGHLIGHT
Visit to The Prince’s Trust Fairbridge Centre and the Historic
Dockyard at Chatham, Kent
On a lovely sunny morning, a short train ride from London Victoria
took us to Chatham where we were met at the station and taken
to The Prince’s Trust Fairbridge centre
located within the historic dockyard on
the River Medway.
On arrival we were welcomed by the
centre manager, Mark Birkbeck (below
left), and introduced to the staff, Calvin
and Matt, and the young people, Deni,
Ross and Terry, who would be our hosts
for the day. A guided tour of the centre’s
facilities followed. Mark told us about
The Main Gate, 1720
the varied programme of activities and
life skills offered to the young people going through the Fairbridge
programme. Several rooms of outward-bound equipment and Figurehead of HMS Wellesley, 1815
clothing neatly hanging on hooks all around us reflected the range of activities offered from
camping, climbing, ‘weaselling’ (tunnelling), canoeing, raft building, mountain biking, archery
and much more. Then it was on to the music studio where equipment such as drums, guitars,
and mixing stations allow the young people to make music that relates to them and enables
personal expression. Drums are good stress-relievers and the occasional jam session is
to be heard throughout the
centre! Here we were treated
to a Beatles tune by Calvin
(left), the music tutor, on the
‘Spiderman’ guitar, a welltravelled and much-loved
instrument decorated in this
unique style by the young
people.
Following a brief tour of the
outdoor facilities, where we
saw more equipment and a garden furniture-restoration project, we were free to wander
through the dockyard. It covers an area of some 80 acres and is the most complete dockyard
of the Age of Sail to survive anywhere in the world. It has many attractions including a lifeboat
display, the 1878 HMS Gannet (pictured right) and the 1962 HM Submarine Ocelot in dry
docks, and a large walled garden hidden behind the impressive red-brick Commissioner’s
House of 1704. A visit to the Gallery to see the recently installed exhibition ‘Valour, Loss &
Sacrifice: Chatham, The Royal Navy and the War at Sea’ proved inspirational and worthy
of a full day visit in its own right. The exhibition forms part of the First World War Centenary
commemorations led by Imperial War Museums and the BBC’s World War One at Home and
runs until the end of November. Catch it if you can.
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At 12.30pm we met back at the centre where lunch
was served, a delicious lasagne and salad followed by
strawberries and ice cream, all prepared and cooked by
the young people. We all sat down together for lunch
and had the chance to chat to our hosts about their
experiences, how they use the centre and how it helps
them. As on the previous visit this was the highlight of
the day and very much enjoyed by everyone.
After lunch we set off with our young hosts to visit the
Ropery. Rope has been made on this site since 1618
and today the Ropery is the world’s only working traditional rope walk to survive from the Age
of Sail. Today five people work in the Ropery and make rope for commercial sale. Included
in the team are Dave Cheer (below centre) and Leanne Coulson, the world’s first female
rope-making apprentice. The Rope Walk has a length of some 1,135 feet (346m) and when
constructed was housed in the longest building in Europe. While we were there, rope was
made with the help of Terry, one of our Fairbridge hosts (below right).
At 4pm, it was time for a team photo and to say goodbye and a huge thank you to all at the
Chatham Centre. We had a thoroughly enjoyable day and left inspired to do so much more
to help young people on the Fairbridge Programme of The Prince’s Trust. We are allocating
£17,000 of our funds to the Chatham Centre this year and look forward to hearing back as to
how it has been put to good use. Given the obvious enthusiasm for what they do, we can be
sure that the staff at the centre will maximise use of the donation for which they are hugely
grateful. In 2013, the Chatham Centre over achieved and worked with the most young people
(160) of all the centres in the UK. We can be proud to help towards making this year even
better. VANESSA SCHOLFIELD
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Tour of Gardens around Rome: Sunday 10 to Friday 15 May, 2015
The tour to gardens and classical sites around Rome will be for five nights departing after the general
election on 7 May and is for members only. To avoid the traffic in Rome, we will stay in Frascati,
an affluent town in the hills 20 miles from Rome where the rich built splendid baroque villas in
the 16th and 17th centuries. In May, wisteria, early roses, magnolias and scented lemon flowers,
box parterres and Renaissance nymphaeums, fountains and statues will predominate. Some of the
gardens are strictly private and rarely open to groups. Some of the gardens are very large and steep
so this tour is only for the energetic.
Built in 1600, the Villa Aldobrandini towers over Frascati and hides a spectacular Water Theatre
created to entertain Cardinal Aldobrandini’s visitors. We will visit exquisitely beautiful Ninfa, and
the romantic Villa Torrechia built nearby within Etruscan and medieval ruins, and also Castel
Gandolfo which Pope Francis has recently
opened only to guided tours. Another day we go
to the Sacro Bosco di Bomarzo, the Villa Lante
and lunch with Donna Claudia Ruspoli in the
Castello Ruspoli at Vignanello. A guide around
Hadrian’s Villa will explain this vast palace
complex, while the fountains at recently restored
Villa d’Este will sparkle in many imaginative
forms. La Landriana is a 20th-century garden
with references to history in box parterres
but also designed in a contemporary style
and Palazzo Parisi (pictured), Lady Arabella
Lennox-Boyd’s childhood home in the Sabine
Hills, is elegantly and aesthetically planted.
Hotel Flora and Hotel Cacciana will be our bases, and included in the price will be two dinners
and five lunches as well as guides in most gardens, and return flight. We have included a free day
for those who want to visit Rome, easily accessible by train, and in Frascati there is a museum, a
baroque church and many little streets and shops to explore.
We fly out on 10 May by BA to Rome departing 08.20 and return on a flight departing 18.45. We offer you
the option of 2 return dates, either Friday 15 or Tuesday 19 May, and we will need to know immediately
which you want. Returning on 19 May is cheaper, so please deduct £65 from the prices below. The
coach will take everyone to Rome airport on Friday afternoon, and we will not make any further
travel or accommodation arrangements thereafter until those staying on meet for the return flight.
The cost in Hotel Flora (12 rooms) will be £1,455 in a twin room or £1,615 in a single room. There
are also two Junior Suites for a total supplement of £160. In Hotel Cacciana (6 rooms) the cost
is £1,375 in a twin room or £1,475 in a single room. Please express a preference, which we will
do our best to meet. As the exchange rate may fluctuate, we will recalculate the Euro element of
the trip, average 950 €, at the beginning of March when we will write again for the balance due.
If you want to come, please email [email protected], ring 020 8563 9697 and, as
Dinah may be abroad, also email [email protected] or ring 020 7736 3210. Please contact
us soon as possible and by 15 October latest. If the trip is oversubscribed, names will be drawn out of a
flowerpot on 16 October and all applicants will be informed within a few days. A non-refundable deposit
of £400 per person, made out to Ultimate Travel Ltd., will be required immediately on confirmation
of a place as flights plus hotel and coach deposits have to be paid before the end of the October.
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EXHIBITIONS IN AND AROUND LONDON
In order of openings – please check times and admission charges
 WALLACE COLLECTION
The Great Gallery has reopened after a two-year refurbishment with a new ceiling letting in daylight to
show off a fresh hanging of the museum’s fabulous Old Masters. www.wallacecollection.org
 WATTS GALLERY, COMPTON, SURREY
Until 9 November: ‘Ellen Terry: The Painter’s Actress’. The exhibition reunites Watts’s greatest paintings of
the stage star, whom he married in 1864 and whose beauty inspired other artists. www.wattsgallery.org.uk
 ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS
Until 14 December: ‘Anselm Kiefer’. Large-scale works by the German ‘colossus of contemporary art’.
25 October-25 January, 2015: ‘Giovanni Batista Moroni’. First major UK show of one of the greatest
portraitists of 16th-century Italy. www.royalacademy.org.uk
 GARDEN MUSEUM
Until 5 January, 2015: ‘Gardens and War’. Exhibition exploring the impact of the First World War on
parks, gardens and landscape, plus stories of gardening in the trenches. 8 November, 10am-4pm:
‘Memorial Landscapes of the First World War’. A study day in association with the Garden History
Society, to coincide with the exhibition. www.gardenmuseum.org.uk
 VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM
Until 11 January, 2015: ‘John Constable: The Making of a Master’. See how revolutionary oil sketches
transfer the freshness of the outdoors into his best-loved masterpieces, all on display. www.vam.ac.uk
 TATE BRITAIN
Until 25 January, 2015: ‘Late Turner: Painting Set Free’. See Events, page 3. www.tate.org.uk
 BRITISH LIBRARY
3 October-20 January, 2015: ‘Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination’. Tracing 250 years of Gothic
from Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker to Stanley Kubrick and Alexander McQueen, via posters, books and
film. www.bl.uk
 NATIONAL GALLERY
15 October-18 January, 2015: ‘Rembrandt: The Late Works’. From the 1650s until his death in 1669,
he pursued a radical, experimental style, expressed in the masterly, soulful paintings on display. In
collaboration with the Rijksmuseum. www.nationalgallery.org.uk
 NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
16 October-11 January, 2015: ‘Anarchy & Beauty: William Morris and his Legacy, 1860-1960.’ Portraits,
plus original furniture, textiles, books, jewellery and ceramics by the Victorian artist and visionary and his
contemporaries. www.npg.org.uk/morris
 BRITISH MUSEUM
16 October-25 January, 2015: ‘Germany: Memories of a Nation’. A 600-year-old history in
objects on the 25th anniversary of German unification. Explore art by Dürer and Holbein, and such
technological achievements as Gutenberg’s printing press, Meissen porcelain and the VW Beetle.
Until 5 January: ‘Ming: 50 Years That Changed China’. www.britishmuseum.org
 MUSEUM OF LONDON
17 October-12 April, 2015: ‘Sherlock Holmes: The Man who Never Lived and will Never Die.’ A major
exhibition transporting the visitor to Victorian London – the backdrop of Conan Doyle’s fabled detective
stories – through early film, photography, paintings and original artefacts. www.museumoflondon.org.uk
 COURTAULD GALLERY
23 October-18 January, 2015: ‘Egon Schiele: the Radical Nude’. A rare chance to see together 30 works
by the Austrian Expressionist from international public and private collections. www.courtauld.ac.uk
 LEIGHTON HOUSE MUSEUM
14 November-29 March, 2015: ‘A Victorian Obsession: the Pérez Simón Collection.’ Loaned from
the Spanish billionaire, important Pre-Raphaelite paintings, many last seen in the UK at the Royal
Academy in the 1890s, including those by Frederic Leighton are on show in his sumptuous former home.
www.rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/museums.aspx
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NOTICEBOARD
More about the back cover pictures:
FULHAM PALACE
 Sunday 19 October, 11am-3pm. Apple Day
Enjoy the superbly restored walled garden and
celebrate the fruit of the 39 apple trees in the
orchard, where 40 new trees will be planted this
autumn. Taste apples, learn about varieties, and
the Palace bees. There’s a baking competition,
live music, food and drink stalls, and more.
 27 October - 19 January, 2015. Apple
growing short horticultural course. Four
hands-on, Monday sessions with the head
gardener Lucy Hart. £50 per person, free to
volunteers.
 26 October - 16 April, 2015. Fulham Palace
through the Great War. Exhibition charting the
Bishop of London’s role and its use as a hospital
and the Palace meadow for food production,
becoming allotments in 1918.
 Friday 14 November, 11am. Reflections
of the Great War. Music, poetry and letters
of the period, with readings led by the
journalist and newscaster, Sophie Raworth,
followed by refreshments and a private view
of the exhibition. £15 per person. Booking
essential. For details and more events, visit
www.fulhampalace.org
Recipe of
the Season
Make the most of this
autumn’s fruit and veg
with this chutney. As
long as you include the
first four ingredients,
you can add other fruit
as you wish, such as
damsons or plums. This is delicious with cheese
or cold meats.
Mixed fruit
chutney
Makes about 10 jars
1kg peeled apples
1kg peeled pears
1kg tomatoes
1kg onions
1kg figs (fresh or dried)
2tbsp curry powder
1tbsp salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
1tbsp mixed herbs
2 heads garlic, the cloves finely chopped
2 green or red peppers
4kg dark brown sugar
500ml malt vinegar
1. Finely cut up all the fruit and vegetables, and
put in a large preserving pan.
2. Add all other ingredients except the vinegar.
Mix well and leave to stand for one day. The
sugar will dissolve and the mixture will become
liquid.
3. Bring to the boil and then boil for half an hour
before adding vinegar. Boil hard until thick.
4. Pour into sterilised jars. MANDY RENTON
POPPIES AT THE TOWER OF LONDON
Don’t miss the evolving installation Blood Swept
Lands and Seas of Red which opened on 5
August, marking the centenary of the outbreak
of the First World War. Created by the ceramic
artist Paul Cummins, hand-made by volunteers
at his studio in Derby, and with a setting by the
stage designer Tom Piper, the ceramic poppies
are being progressively planted to encircle the
Tower’s moat until 11 November, when there will
be a total of 888,246. Catch the Last Post at dusk
to the recital of a Roll of Honour. Buy your own
hand-made poppy for £25. The proceeds will
be shared among six Service-related charities
including the British Legion. For more details,
visit www.poppies.hrp.org.uk
THE ARTISTIC GARDENER
General garden maintenance,
soft landscaping, indoor and outdoor
pots & tubs, floristry
Contact Lyndon Thompson, former plant
supervisor of the Fulham Palace Garden
Centre, on 07852 216933, or email
[email protected]
London Christmas Fair
in aid of The British Red Cross
PARSONS GREEN FILM SOCIETY
New independent pop-up cinema!
Film screenings every Wednesday at 7.30pm
throughout October at St Dionis Upper Hall,
Parsons Green Lane, SW6 4UH
www.parsonsgreenfilmsociety.com
At Kensington Town Hall, London W8
on Wednesday, 26 November,
11.30am-8.30pm
www.redcross.org.uk/fair
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Diary Dates
Wednesday, 15 October
First World War walk
Thursday, 23 October
Late Turner at Tate Britain
Wednesday, 5 November
Jewish London
Thursday, 20 November
Parliamentary Archives, Palace of Westminster
Monday, 1 December
FGAS Christmas Party
Tuesday, 13 January 2015
The College of Arms
For more details, see pages 3-4
Overleaf: Fulham Palace walled garden in early September 2014;
ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, planted to commemorate the 888,246 British
and Commonwealth soldiers fallen during the First World War. See opposite.
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