A Walk in the Rain and the first Wallaby

 Yesterday we walked in soft and gentle rain at Biddulph Grange Country Park.  The country park is next door to the National Trust's Biddulph Grange Gardens and was originally part of the same estate.

It is 35 hectares of landscaped views and natural features designed by Victorian industrialists James Bateman and Robert Heath. 

There are both original and newly laid out paths through both meadow and woodland leading to the lake and it's boathouse built in 1903.

A Hydro-electric scheme begun in 1904 was reinstated in 2000 and provides sustainable power for local use.

We walked as far as the lake, you can see the boathouse in the distance and the rain on the lake.

Back at the visitor centre we spotted the Wallaby.  There are ten in all and they are part of the Where's Wallaby trail around the towns and beauty spots of the Staffordshire Moorlands.  Why wallabies? There is a story to tell.  

At the time of the second world war five Bennett's wallabies escaped into the wild from a zoo at Roaches Hall run by a man called Henry Courtney Brocklehurst.  Sadly he lost his life in Burma during the war.  The wallabies bred and at one time as many as fifty were counted on and around the Roaches.

There are now wallabies at the Peak Wildlife Park who are celebrating their 10th Anniversary this year.  Hence ten wallabies.  They have joined with Outside, Wild in Art and the Staffordshire Moorlands Council to commission ten artists to work with ten community groups to create the wallabies.

The Wallaby above is called Berry B painted by Clare Ash and the Biddulph Youth and Community Zone.

Above a Wallaby and Joey taken at Peak Wildlife Park in February this year.

The exhibition runs from 18th July to 5th September so we have plenty of time to seek out the other nine over the summer.

A few more and a Lazy Fox

Mr Fox has been visiting the garden in the early mornings and evenings.  A few days ago I spotted him relaxing on the top lawn.  I'm glad he feels safe here.

In my last post I promised a few more photos of The Ragged Victorians at the Gladstone Pottery Museum.

I can't remember what character the man above was meant to be.  I love his hat.

The Rat Catcher.  I expect that today he would be called a Rodent Control Operative.

Fallen on hard times

The two girls were really involved in their conversation.

Below the Shepherd in sepia tone

and the girls in black and white

All for now.

Ragged Victorians

 Today the Ragged Victorians were in town so we walked down the hill to find them. 

 They were at the Gladstone Pottery Museum where a Victorian Day was being held.

We could hear the music from the barrel organ as we entered the museum.  

The Ragged Victorians are a living history group re-enacting the lower classes of England in 1851 and very good they are too.  So many different characters.  The sober shepherd, the rat catcher, the fish wife, the policeman, the wounded soldier and many more.

I took loads of photos so I'll share a few now and perhaps do something later with more of them.  I might try to sepia tone some of them or perhaps monochrome.

The Fisherman's wife making nets.

Lavender seller

The Rat Catcher

In the Doctor's waiting room

A friendly hug

The sober shepherd seeking work

Policeman.  

The costumes were wonderful, suitably grubby and well worn, roughly mended shoes clattered on the cobbles.

All for now.

Into July

 Moving gently into July with a few photos of the wildflower beds at Trentham Gardens.

After getting my blood tested at a local clinic ready for my hospital appointment later this week we popped into the gardens for a coffee and a walk around.  The wildflowers are looking wonderful at the moment.  

I'm hoping that the dosage of medication I am taking can be reduced if the results of the blood test are better.  I was diagnosed with PV (Polycythemia Vera) in August last year,  I know I have to take the medication indefinitely but I would like to taker fewer of them if possible.  

A dear friend of our who has pulmonary fibrosis  says he has become a half day person over the last few years and sometimes I feel the same.  Fatigue overtakes me in the afternoons especially in the hot weather.

Anyway, time to get moving as I have that appointment this morning.  We need to leave earlier than normal to allow for road works and also finding parking at the hospital which is usually quite stressful. All for now.

Art on your Doorstep

At the moment there is a travelling exhibition from the National Gallery on display in the city centre. 

It's an outdoor exhibition sited in the gardens of the old Bethesda Chapel opposite the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery.  Stoke-on-Trent was chosen as their first venue so the exhibition could be part of the 100 years celebration of Stoke becoming a city.

Entitled 'Art on your Doorstep' it comprises fifteen life size facsimiles of works of art chosen by the gallery.  As it is Friday I've picked out five to highlight.  Some remembered from the Art History A level I did many years ago.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)   'A Wheatfield with Cypresses' painted in 1889.

Joseph Mallard William Turner (1775-1851) 'Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway' 1844.

Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797) 'An Experiment on a bird in an air pump' 1768

Georges Seurat (1859-1891) 'Bathers at Asnières' 1884

Henri Rousseau (Le Douanier) (1844-1910)  'Surprised' 1891

Across the road at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery are two interesting exhibitions.

A Century of Collecting 1925-2025

and

'Arthur Berry 100 - A celebration of a cultural icon, poet, painter and playwright.'

All for now.

In the Garden

This Summer three Great Mullein plants have taken over one of the raised beds at the top of the garden.  

 Two plants appeared in the same bed a couple of years ago, last year they disappeared but this year there are three of the them.  

According to the RHS website Verbascum thrapsus or Great Mullein is a tall grey or white woolly biennial and grows up to 2 metres in height.  Well it being a biennial explains why we didn't see one last year.  It is also known as Aaron's Rod but has many other names including Beggar's blanket, Common Mullein, Adams's flannel, and Woollens.  

Also in the garden both Philadelphus shrubs are flowering.  One at the top of the garden.

The other in a pot until we decide where to place it.  It's my favourite mock orange - Belle Etoile.

Two different poppies have appeared

 both self-seeded.

Below 

Blue Borage

Common Chamomile

Yellow Loosestrife has returned in a different part of the garden. When we first came here the garden was full of it but we have gradually thinned it out.

Sweet Peas

Hardy Geranium

I've been picking both Sweet peas and Pinks for the house.  The scent of both is lovely.  It's been cooler today and the garden has benefitted from overnight rain.

Including the pond.  The newts are happy as well.