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Well this, my final free week, took me to the wonderful Hampton Court Palace to attend an intensive week of garden design training. KLC are a design (both interior and exterior) training company who operate out of premises in Chelsea Harbour and Hampton Court. Without any disrespect to any training course I have previously attended, I can honestly say that this week has been the single most educational and fulfilling week of my life. None of the pretensions of other superficially prestigious colleges, just a great teacher in Juliet Sargeant, excellently facilitated by Ruth Ellis, resulting in a friendly, happy learning environment. Yet another Plutus recommendation - unless you are going to be competing for business, of course, in which case I can assure you that there is no future in garden design so you best give up now! So, I've completed my first site survey, made my first master and planting plans, created my first mood board, designed my first garden (aside from the space behind my flat that I lovingly refer to as my garden, of course) and made a bunch of new friends. What more can one ask for? The answer... due to the fact that KLC operate out of Hampton Court Palace, it was necessary for all students to apply to the Historic Royal Palaces organisation for security clearance. This security clearance gave us completely free access to all areas of the palace. OK, we didn't have too much time to explore, but being able to pop into the tudor kitchens, royal chapel etc. on the way back from lunch made the experience that little bit better. Thanks to Maurice for the history lessons ;)No pics this time, unfortunately, as my designs are valuable. I'll be sure to let you know the name and address of my design company, however...
Hello out there! Been a long time, again! Sorry, I've been distracted. Last week was taken up by a short course at the English Gardening School, hosted at the Chelsea Physic Garden under the tutelage of Rosemary Alexander, Laura de Beden and Simon Pyle. This was a great course and I learnt an awful lot from three great tutors. Far too much to disclose here but suffice to say that I now look at gardens very differently. In short, it isn't all about the plants. Sure, plants are some of the constituent parts of a garden but it isn't about buying plants you like and finding a "good enough" place for them. Oh no! It is all about the space. What is it for? What will you be doing out there? Once you've decided upon that, and a few other important things, such as budget, you can then start planning. Only when the plan is complete do you start thinking about the specific plants you want to place. Of course there's more to it than that but you get the idea. We spent one of our four days travelling to a couple of different gardens, including Rosemary's. Here is a pic of her Apricot Border, still looking rather resplendent despite the cold, miserable summer:
I had a great time and am already wishing I was back at the school expanding my knowledge even further...
Hello! No, I've not been lazy, I've been on holiday. Mrs P and I were in the south of France for a short while. Wonderful time had by all, well both! We got the Eurostar to Avignon, picked up a car, drove to St. Laurent du Verdon, drove round the Gorges du Verdon, drove up Mont Ventoux, drove to Orange, drove through Chateauneuf-du-Pape, drove back to Avignon, dumped the car and chilled a little after driving a little over 1000km in our surprisingly capable diesel Fiat in four days. Then got very stressed by the prospect of not being able to return home due to the fire in the tunnel. I shall not post my opinions of Eurostar/Eurotunnel nor any details of my personal experience until I am satisfied with the compensation I receive! Instead, here's a couple o' pics:
Atop Mt. Ventoux viewing our journey back down
Gorges de l'ardeche
Mrs P looking out of the Chateau in Chateauneuf
Of the four places we stayed I adored Le Moulin du Chateau in St. Laurent du Verdon and loved La Banasterie (and their dog) in Avignon. Le Moulin is run by a wonderful Swiss couple called Edith and Nicolas who operate a relaxed, beautifully decorated B&B that forces you to relax, eat well and enjoy yourself no matter how much you resist. La Banasterie is a slightly more busy place due to its location in an Avignon back street but is similarly tranquil. Typical provencal colour schemes and decor really make this place a wonderful find and Mouchi (sp?) the Shih-Tzu is an amazingly friendly little chap! If you are planning a holiday to Provence and fancy staying somewhere more elegant, charming and personal than a hotel check out:
http://www.moulin-du-chateau.com/
http://www.labanasterie.com/
Since I've been back, I've been baking bread with my newly acquired French ingredients, making lovely chicken stock from our roast chicken remains, perfecting some of my woodwork pieces as well as starting a couple of new ones, enjoying sleeping in my own bed and embarking upon some futher horticultural training at the Chelsea Physic Garden.
So much to post about, so little time...
1st August 2008 was a big day in my life. I left my job of eight years, albeit only temporarily, to embark upon a three month journey of discovery...
From the ages of twenty one to thirty I have been working in the semiconductor electronics industry and while it can be a fascinating place at times, I need a change! Generally speaking, silicon valley companies treat their employees well. Not many employers allow their employees to take periods of unpaid leave for personal development purposes so I consider myself lucky to be able to take time away from my job to hurl myself into everything I find fun, interesting and enjoyable.
A little about me... I am an engineer by education and trade. I believe it to be a deficiency of the English schooling system that I had to decide upon my vocational career path at the age of fifteen. I studied Maths, Physics and Electronics A-Levels and then went on to study Electrical and Electronic Engineering at university. Not wanting to waste my education I chose to follow a career in the electronics industry. To this day I've had no regrets – my work has allowed me to travel the globe and taught me many extremely valuable skills. I've even been passionate about it at times. Recently, however, I have become tired of the politics, exhausted by poor management and disillusioned about following a career just for the sake of it. I'm embarking upon a journey of discovery, finding out what is out there, trying to understand what I want to do “when I grow up”.
I'm going to be taking a variety of training courses over the coming months – horticulture, garden design, woodworking, wood sculpture, wood turning and a bunch more. I'll be spending much belated time with my good friends and family as well as finding some time to make profitable renovations to my flat. I spend so much of my time cooking and, without wishing to sound too arrogant, most of the end products are way better than your average restaurant food. Hence I shall also be commencing the scripting of my recipe book. Haven't decided upon a theme yet, that'll probably come with time although working with whatever Kingston-upon-Thames market can supply me at a reasonable price may well dictate some of the contents.
Hopefully you want to stay with me during my journey. I intend to post at every available opportunity although several of my training courses mean I have to stay away so I can't make any guarantees.
