Category Archives: Events

Chelsea Congratulations and an Invitation to Australian Garden Lovers to discover The Garden of England

Posted on May 21, 2013 by | Leave a comment

We’re having a really fun week taking a private group from North America around some of our favourite gardens in South East England before they visit the Centenary RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London on Friday.

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On Sunday we went to Great Dixter where we were treated to a dazzling display of spring colour and came away vowing to be far more courageous with tulips in the future.

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We also explored Great Dixter’s historic Oast House before taking advantage of Sunday’s warm sunshine to lunch in the picturesque ‘Antient’ Cinque Port town of Rye.

JadeVineYesterday we were at the fabulous RHS gardens at Wisley where everyone found their favourites: from magnificent azaleas and rhododendrons on Battleston Hill, acres of Fruit Fields in full-blossom and exquisite spring alpine displays, to the rare and very special treat of seeing the extraordinary Jade Vine in full aquamarine bloom in the Glass House for the first time in eight years.

Today it’s the splendours of Leeds Castle and Vita Sackville West’s dreamy Sissinghurst then on to the castle gardens of Nymans, Scotney and Hever Castle later in the week.

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The success of Australia’s magnificent Trailfinders Australian Show Garden, presented by Flemings, which won a Gold Medal plus the coveted ‘Best in Show’ at the Chelsea Flower Show earlier today, may even bring more visitors from Australia to Chelsea next year.

Many congratulations and we will look forward to showing you around the best of the glorious gardens of ‘The Garden of England’ while you are here!

Meanwhile I’ll be relaxing during my own visit to the Chelsea Flower Show on Friday.  The past few years I have been lucky enough to work on various (Gold Medal winning!) Show Gardens so it will be a change to see the Show from a visitor’s perspective.

Amanda Hutchinson               Amanda sig first name

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Wellington Arch

Posted on May 2, 2013 by | Leave a comment

 

London South East Tour GuidesSome of England’s rarest treasures are now on display at the Quadriga Gallery in Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner. English Heritage is marking the centenary of the Ancient Monuments Act thorough out the year and this is the second of four exhibitions. The parliamentary Act recognised the state’s duty to protect historic sites and relics –we are supremely grateful for their foresight.

 

One of the items on display is a bronze steelyard weight in the form of a bearded satyr discovered at Richborough Roman fort near Sandwich in Kent. Richborough was the first Roman fort built in Britain under the orders of Aulus Plautius Commander of the Roman army which invaded Britain in 43 and was known at the time as Rutupiae. 

Richborough continued in importance through the ages; it became a secret World War I installation  used to ferry troops and supplies to the trenches. After the war it silted up and became disused. It was revived in World War II and part of the Mulberry Harbour installation, used in the Normandy landings, was built there. Today the ruins of the fort are another English Heritage site and well worth a visit down to this lovely corner of Kent – and you just know what you are going to have to have for lunch – courtesy of the 4th Earl!

The Wellington Arch was built to commemorate the victories of the Duke of Wellington whose country seat as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was Walmer Castle just down the road from Sandwich – preserved by – you’ve guessed it – English Heritage, why not spend a day in Kent this weekend.

London South East Tour GuidesJust in case it has slipped your memory:-   A  steelyard is a straight-beam balance with arms of unequal length incorporating a counterweight which slides along the calibrated longer arm to counterbalance the load and indicate its weight.

 

Steelyards of different sizes were used to weigh loads ranging from ounces to tons. A small steelyard could be a foot or less in length and thus conveniently used as a portable device that merchants and traders could use to weigh small ounce-sized items of merchandise.  The largest steelyards were three stories tall and used to weigh fully laden horse-drawn carts!

 

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Posted in Blue Badge Tourist Guides, Events, Kent, London

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Delivering a Golden Legacy: VisitBritain’s growth strategy

Posted on May 1, 2013 by | Leave a comment

London South East Tour guidesYesterday the Rt Hon Maria Miller MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, launched the tourism partnership strategy for Britain which aims to welcome 40 million overseas visitors by 2020, spending £31.5 billion.

There are four key objectives to achieving the strategy:

  • Build on Britain’s improved international image
  • Increase distribution through the travel trade
  • Broaden the product range on offer
  • Make it easier to get to Britain.

Last year’s figures were exceptional, 31 million visitors spending £18.6 billion, the new strategy looks to develop that by almost 30% in six years.

VisitBritain’s focus for 2013/14 is to maintain the awareness created by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Jubilee celebrations.

The GREAT Britain marketing campaign will target the strongly performing growth markets of Brazil, China, India and the Gulf along with the established markets of USA, France and Germany.

A £2 million, two-year partnership with Emirates to promote Britain overseas was announced yesterday. The deal will include a combination of marketing in kind and cash payments. Emirates cover a vast network of routes and destinations across South East Asia, Australia, India and the GCC and offer regional gateways across Britain.

As part of the growth strategy VisitBritain officially launched the new regional hub in Dubai to reach across the GCC including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Kuwait City and Qatar.

Travel and tourism is a wonderful industry to be involved in right now, few others have such growth potential and South East Tour Guides  look forward to playing our part in keeping the Great in Britain!

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Queen Elizabeth’s Quiet Birthday before the Official Celebration in London in June

Posted on April 21, 2013 by | 1 Comment

queenAs Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 87th birthday today we understand she will be enjoying a quiet celebration with her family at Windsor Castle.

Her Majesty may also be drinking a toast to her horse Sign Manual which she watched win during a private visit to Newbury racecourse yesterday. See the link below for her delighted reaction and spectacular smile! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2311913/The-Queen-celebrates-visit-Newbury-winner.html

Meanwhile in London today the London Marathon is taking place noisily outside The Queen’s home at Buckingham Palace. This year the start of the race was marked by a 30 second silence in honour of the victims of the bombings at the Boston Marathon earlier in the week. Many of the 35,000 participants chose to wear black ribbons on their vests in front of record crowds. Virgin London Marathon has pledged to donate £2 for every runner who finishes the event to The One Fund Boston set up to raise money for victims of the explosions.

london-marathon

The Mall will also see the Queen’s Official Birthday celebrations in June. She celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual birthday on 21 April and her official birthday which will be celebrated on Saturday 15th June at the spectacular Trooping the Colour parade which goes from Buckingham Palace along The Mall to Horseguards’ Parade.

Trooping the Colour

Meanwhile traditional gun salutes will be fired in London tomorrow – because this year the Queen’s birthday falls on a Sunday.  The salutes will take place at midday with a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park and a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London. There will also be a 21 gun salute in Windsor Great Park.

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Why do they fire 62 rounds at the Tower and only 41 in Hyde Park? The calculation at the Tower is as follows: 21 (standard Royal) + 20 (it’s a Royal Palace) + 21 for The City of London = 62  - so now you know!

The most rounds fired in a single salute is 124  ie a Double Royal when the Queen’s official birthday coincides with the Duke of Edinburgh’s birthday (June 10th – the day after mine so I always remember that one!). This last occurred in 1967.

Amanda Hutchinson   Amanda sig first name

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Posted in Events, International Links, Kent, London, Royal Family

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10 for Downing Street

Posted on April 16, 2013 by | Comments Off

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

An alternative to viewing Baroness Thatcher’s funeral being held tomorrow, Wednesday is the Thatcheristic Exhibition at Gallery Different, 14 Percy St  London W1.

Ten artists’ depictions of Margaret Thatcher are on display for ten days symbolic of her stay at No. 10 Downing Street, home to the British Prime Minister.

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Posted in Blue Badge Tourist Guides, Events, Kent

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Worth Waiting for Spring

Posted on April 13, 2013 by | Comments Off


Graet Comp GardenWell, it’s been a long cold winter but there are some benefits when it comes to spring in the Glorious Gardens of Kent. In my own garden (not so glorious) the daffodils have still not opened and in gardens far grander than mine the cold has held back many spring bulbs so that as soon as the weather sets fair – and that’s this weekend we’re told by those in the know - we are going to get a riot of colour all at once. It’s my guess that we will see bulbs and blossoms blooming together where we usually get a more sequential flowering.

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Test our my theory at Great Comp Gardens, near Sevenoaks on Sunday 14th April  at the annual Spring Fling Plant Fair starting at 11.00am. If we get a really good Saturday I think you may be rewarded with some of their magnificent magnolias opening just in time – one of the oldest and most perfect of all flowers, so beautiful it makes your heart ache.

Enjoy, Spring has truly arrived!

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Once a Light Blue always a Light Blue? A mother’s Boat Race dilemma…

Posted on March 31, 2013 by | Comments Off

When my son got in to Oxford University one of the first observations from other family members was “Well of course you’ll be supporting Oxford in the Boat Race now.”

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I was astounded! My answer was immediate and unequivocal, rejecting all their pre-suppositions and expectations of parental support: Absolutely no way!  Once a Light Blue always a Light Blue!

So this Easter Day for the first time a sporting event, the 159th University Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge, will, in our household, be followed keenly but firmly from opposite sides of the fence or River.

Cambridge oar Oxford oar

My son, possibly in a desperate attempt to sway me, has taken up rowing for Trinity College (the dark blue one), with accompanying mother’s-heart-strings-tugging freezing 6am starts on the Isis, punishing training schedules and extraordinary fridge-emptying food consumption.  There’s even the added emotional enticement of a 2012 Olympic medal winning member of his college, Constantine Loulondis, rowing in the Oxford Boat, plus the memory of last year’s Oxford crew’s traumatic loss, which they will be desperate to rectify.

Fortunately said-son will be keeping his distance standing somewhere on the (freezing) banks of the Thames this afternoon while I will be watching in front of a warm fire.  The main thing is that now he is at Oxford he completely understands my point of view.

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Meanwhile, away from the sporting rivalry, I love both Oxford and Cambridge as two very beautiful, very different places to visit. And as a Blue Badge Tourist Guide qualified to take groups to Oxford, and as an Alumna of Cambridge able to take guests back there too I enjoy sharing the best of worlds…

… apart from today. Although in my heart of hearts, having now seen the work and commitment my son puts in to row at college level,  I am just totally in awe of the sporting ability and dedication of both crews.

Besides, whatever the outcome in the rowing,  Cambridge won the Varsity Football yesterday…

Amanda Hutchinson   Amanda sig first name

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Posted in 2012 Olympics, Blue Badge Tourist Guides, Events, Home, Family & Fun, London

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Pillow talk – Secrets of the Royal Bedchamber

Posted on March 27, 2013 by | Comments Off

Blue Badge London South East Tour GuidesA new temporary exhibition opens at Hampton Court Palace in the Baroque state apartments – the story of the State Beds -the rituals of the bedchamber, from morning levée to evening couchée.

Historic Royal Palaces’ exhibition curator, Sebastian Edwards, says: “ Far from being restful places of privacy, the state bedchamber was the seat of power – the equivalent of the modern day boardroom, from which the business of the Kingdom was conducted. Events which took place in and around these beds had enormous consequences for society, politics and history.

“Courtiers were knighted, wars were brokered, marriages consummated and mistresses wooed all in the shadow of the royal bed.”

Charles II  introduced the ceremonies which were to become a feature of the bedchamber for the next 100 years.  Courtiers embarked on a social climbing venture to get as close to the bedchamber as possible where, if they were deemed worthy, their Monarch would receive them. Just guess at the job  description of The Groom of the Stool!

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Chilham Castle Kent

Posted on March 25, 2013 by | Comments Off

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Another fascinating gem of a country house in Kent.

There has been a castle on the hill top from Saxon times.

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A later castle built in the time of King Henry II was visited by the French Dauphin in the time of King John and his rebellious barons and is still extant.
Next to this is the present house, built in 1616 for Sir Dudley Diggs, Master of the Rolls for James I. The house had changed hands many times, with many of those owners making changes to their home. The house has a fascinating architectural heritage with links as diverse as Stonehenge and early telescopes.

Blue Badge South East tour GuidesChilham was the last stop off point for pilgrims travelling along the ancient Pilgrims’ Way to Canterbury. The village church was said to house St Augustine’s sarcophagus, and indeed it has a very fine sarcophagus, but unfortunately now empty. However the church is well worth a visit for its interesting monuments and stained glass windows.

chilham castle view
The hill on which the castle and house stand commands spectacular views of the Stour valley and on the opposite hill, the last resting place of one of Julius Caesar’s men, Julliberrie, an army captain.
The 24 acres of gardens show influences of John Tradescant the Elder (probably) and later, Capability Brown (definitely) and make the most of their spectacular aspect. The current owners are replanting and repairing the gardens which makes it all the more interesting to see a ‘work in progress’.
Square ChilhamThe village of Chilham itself is a snapshot of medieval village life as it would have been, nestling at the foot of the Big House. A far-sighted previous owner  built an early by-pass around the village and this has been the saving of it, now for all to stroll around and enjoy. The house, the church, the village, its teashop and pubs are all well worth a visit. Pre-arranged guided tours of Chilham Castle are available and all proceeds go towards the church restoration fund.

Blue Badge South East Tour GuidesA visit is highly recommended by South East Tour Guides.

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The Mystery of Jane Austen’s Elephants

Posted on March 24, 2013 by | Comments Off

Jane AustenIt isn’t just Bath and Chawton that can lay claim to Jane Austen, Kent also has a share in the Austen family archives. Jane Austen used to visit her relatives in Kent, the garden of England. She stayed at the village of Chevening and may well have modelled Rosings Park in  Pride and Prejudice on Chevening House, now home to Foreign Secretary William Haig and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

She certainly bought a brown beaver hat in Sevenoaks, but it is her visits to Chilham that I am interested in today. Chilham is a beautiful village deep into Kent on the old Pilgrims’ Way, the last stop before Canterbury. Jane stayed at her brother’s home in Godmersham and wrote to her sister from there after “a walk to see Mr Wildman’s elephants at Chilham”.

Elephants in Kent? Possibly not as daft as it sounds, the owners of Chilham Castle, the Colebrooke family maintained strong connections with the East India Company, which in their day, ruled India.

Relatives of later owners of the Castle have an oil painting inscribed “The elephant brought from Ceylon by Mr Charles Hardy in 1875” .  In the records of the Chilham Society a copy appears with the caption “Tambo with the elephant brought from Ceylon by Charles S Hardy in 1875″  The Hardy family also own a collar which, according to family tradition, the animal wore; its distinctive buckle can be recognised in the photograph.

There are recollections in the village of about 100 years ago, when  an elephant, (kept, according to one local resident, with the horses in the stables near the Keep) used to tow a mower over the castle lawns (presumably wearing the collar) and on special occasions such as Boxing Day, village children were allowed to ride on its back.

There is a house in the village called Elephant House in which the elephant is reputed to have lived and not far away in the grounds, until recently, were three  large stones bearing names.   Word on the estate was that they marked the graves of elephants, excavation might provide an answer, or perhaps it is best left a mystery. 

And as for Jane Austen’s letter, it has disappeared,  until we can track this letter down, Jane’s Trip to See the Elephant tale remains unsubstantiated.

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