Nearly one month in and it is amazing how much we have achieved. Our friend Craig has built a fantastic new net cage over the new gooseberry bush which is now bearing tiny wee green gooseberries. We’ve planted a globe artichoke in there too but it will be 2012 before we see any artichoke action. I am taking great delight in making things from found stuff. I salvaged some lovely
Druzhba Sanatorium, Yalta, Ukraine designed by Igor Vasilievsky. Photograph by Frederic Chaubin The cult of the super-architect has grown in the west as countries commission internationally-famous, often wealthy architects to lend their status and fame, as well as their considerable design talents, to new flagship buildings. Not so in the old USSR where these exhuberant and striking buildings were designed by architects who were civil servants and received little recognition
One time Marine Girl and now Caught by the River, the wonderful Tracey Thorn is one of the contributors to On Nature, scheduled for publication by Harper Collins at the end of next month. The book is a guide to country pursuits with contributors sharing their particular outdoor passions such as life on remote islands, watching the seasons through a Welsh kitchen window, boy’s own adventures and urban naturalist daydreams. Caught by the
by Nicki Slater, Imagination Workshop Set off earlier this month for my first day of allotmenting proper, VERY excited and with hoe in hand. Imagine my heartbreak when I arrived to see ALL fruit bushes, apples trees, nets and rhubarb completely gone. The previous tenants had showed up and removed the lot. I know it was theirs and they could take it if they wanted but I must admit a
For those of us who find being good difficult why not check into The Good Hotel. Their philanthropic approach is designed to inspire the "good in us all'. The eco-friendly hotel decor features reclaimed and recycled construction materials. Saving the planet has delivered quirky and interesting design features: the bench (pictured below) made from recycled felt blankets; a vending machine branded by ReadyMade magazine which dispenses sustainable t-shirts and wallets
San Francisco's stunning de Young Museum, designed by Swiss Pritzker Prize winning architects Herzog & de Meuron, is located in the city's beautiful Golden Gate Park. The museum describes the architectural concept: 'Constructed of warm, natural materials including copper, stone, wood and glass, the new de Young blends with and complements its natural surroundings. Ribbons of windows erase the boundary between the museum interior and the lush natural environment outside, and
This week we're wearing flowers in our hair as we head west to San Francisco. From the high camp of the Castro Theatre to the cultured cool of the de Young Museum, we'll bring you some of the most interesting things going in this most laid back and creative of American cites as well as recommending delicious Californian wines so that you can enjoy a taste of the west coast wherever you
by Nicki Slater, The Imagination Workshop So the house smells like moist compost and all available floor space has been taken over by small green things which we have to be careful not to step on – makes hoovering tricky (shame)! All the seeds I planted in pots and trays are now showing their first leaves. The runner and borlotti beans are growing incredibly fast. I think if I watched them
J Irwin Miller's home in Columbus, Indiana, a modernist masterpiece designed by Eero Saarinen in 1953, opened to the public on the 10th of May 2011 following a three-year refurbishment. The house was gifted to the Museum of Indianapolis in 2008. Thanks to J Irwin Miller, Columbus is not your average mid-west town: it has over 70 buildings by noted modern architects with an elementary school designed by Richard Meier, a library
If for you holidays are escapes from the humdrum and the familiar how about booking your next break in a stone pineapple or pretending you're a Daphne du Maurier character in a sea lashed castle? The Landmark Trust is a building preservation charity which gives historic and architecturally interesting buildings new life as unique holiday accommodation. Its aim is to 'promote enjoyment of historic buildings by enabling as many people as possible