Art Unbound at Painswick Rococo Garden

We had a really lovely few hours at the Rococo garden last Sunday 23/6 and would highly recommend a visit! We went to see the fabulous sculpture exhibition – Art Unbound.

Painswick Rococo Garden is a delightful unique 18th century garden set in a hidden valley just south of Gloucester with lovely views of the surrounding countryside. Stunning landscape, beautiful scenery, water features and interesting buildings. Ideal place for photography, and I was very happy to spent time with my loved ones. Good display of flowers and vegetables and you will not be disappointed, together with the sweet smells of nature and listen to the birds. The exhibition of sculptures beautifully displayed throughout the gardens.

Art Unbound is a contemporary outdoor sculpture, which taking inspiration from the playful intentions of rom the 18th century garden. It embraces the natural and creative energy of the rococo period and connect people to both art and the environment.

The exhibition features works from 18 established and emerging British sculptors working in a variety of scales and mediums, including wood, stone, wire, ceramics and bronze.

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It is a really nice garden, we enjoyed the walk, the sculptures and playful spirit of the Rococo period. The maze was fun to get lost in. Enjoyed a nice cool drink and scones in the cafe afterwards. All staff very helpful and friendly! Definitely worth a visit if you have a couple of hours to spare.

Go and see the amazing exhibition which is available from Sunday 26 May to Sunday 8 September 2019.

http://www.rococogarden.org.uk/

 

 

My journey to British citizenship

Here I am! So what I have been doing all this time…… As a European National I never had the natural desire or intention to obtain British citizenship. But in the light of Brexit referendum in 2016 I became more inclined to acquire British nationality and decided to take the plunge. Greek by birth I moved in UK in 1999, who had lived and worked here for at least 19 years as the spouse of a British, I was eligible to apply for citizenship. What’s more, England’s green and pleasant land has been my country too and I loved it for its beautiful landscape, culture, history and language. 

Since 2017  I  have gone through hell first filling forms for permanent residency (PR)  just so that I can keep living and working in this country…. if I didn’t get PR card I will never have citizenship. I wanted to ensure that I have safeguarded my residence in the UK in the best possible way. I wanted a guarantee that I will be able to stay in the place I have made my home.

Over all these months, I studied for the citizenship test ‘Life in the UK: the journey to citizenship’, did some on-line practice tests and took the test at a testing centre in Oxford.  Once I passed, I had to fill out all the necessary paperwork and send it (along with the required payment of over £1200) to the Home Office.  So, I jumped through hoops I have to prove my existence here, they have recorded my voice, taken the biometrics of my facial features and my fingerprints. They have checked my coming and goings from this country, checked for criminal records.

I received the letter of approval In May and then waited to be invited to a citizenship ceremony. 

In the process of becoming a British citizen I felt sadness to the core because of Brexit, fear with the thought of being deported and leaving my family behind humiliated having to prove myself over and over again with masses of paperwork and evidence and have taken £2000 approximately in the process (citizenship fee + travel expenses, biometric fee, postage expenses etc. I will never forget the anxiety, the stress and uncertainty I lived with.

 

On 18th of July attended a group ceremony and took the “Oath of Allegiance’ stand up for the national anthem and welcomed as a new British citizen. Now I have two nationalities, not just one (officially became “Greco-British”). Two allegiances and two chances to vote. Two delightful locations to share with my family, and two places to come home to.

None the less I felt proud, full of joy and great relief when I finally become British citizen and stop worrying about potential changes in immigration rule, meet requirements etc. And of course, I am able now to vote and take an active role as a British citizen!

On a personal note, Naturalising as a British citizen won’t change who I am.  It might make my life easier and I will get to vote. And if I find I don’t like it I can always renounce it.

Greek by birth, British out of necessity and European by my identity of choice.

Good luck to everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

Queen’s Garden Party

On 10^th of May 2016 attended the Queen’s Garden Party. My husband and I were given the opportunity to attend the Royal Garden Party, especially so in this year of the Queen’s 90^th birthday. My little boy said we were very lucky! We arrived at Buckingham Palace before 3pm the queue wasn’t long walked through the Grand Hall of the Palace, out onto the terrace, and enjoyed looking around the gardens for an hour.

Nearly 8,000 guests gathered on the lawns of Buckingham Palace as the Queen arrived to the National Anthem.   Despite the rain the Queen and Prince Philip chatted to a number of guests before taking tea in the Royal Tent.  Other members of the royal family who attended included The Duke of York, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra.

The very British weather did not dampen guests’ spirits, and people from all walks of life mingled in very good humour, many taking the opportunity to explore the 40-acre Palace gardens that normally remain hidden to members of the public, whilst others enjoyed their royal afternoon tea accompanied by an eclectic variety of music played by two military bands.

As you might imagine, everything was expertly managed by Palace staff, not least the 27,000 cups of tea, 20,000 sandwiches and 20,000 slices of cake that are served by around 400 staff!”

Garden parties go a long way did exist in Queen Victoria’s time, but, despite being held in the afternoon, were called ‘Breakfasts’ and only the nobility and officials were invited. When the present Queen came to the throne in 1952, eligible young ladies were presented at Court, as they had been for years. In 1958, these presentations were abolished.

No doubt a very special event for us both to remember!

 

My 50th Birthday!

Happy Birthday to me! Now I am old and wise!  I have reached my half century! Couldn’t keep it a secret.

Personally I’d rather disappear on holiday for a week and pretend it never happened!

As I couldn’t escape I decided to do something special for my 50th birthday! A weekend trip to Worcester, a great birthday Italian meal  at Zizzy’s  shared with family (of course miss my family and friends from Greece)  lots of birthday wishes and lots of presents! Felt spoiled rotten!

My birthday cake was amazing! A lady (and friend) named Hayley she did my special birthday cake. I’ve seriously never tasted a cake so delicious and she is really creative and talented! Everyone loved it!

I hope the next 50 years to pass more smoothly than the first.

I will always fondly remember. Here is to the next 50 years!

Longleat Safari Park

Early September we visited Longleat and I must say it was a lovely day out. The weather was perfect too. The historic house is magnificnet and the park looks impressive but we were unable to join the tour this time.

We had a lovely cream team at the café however this was interrupted by the wasps! The boat trip was a cool experience saw the seals, hippos, and the gorilla chilling out in his personal island!

We loved our safari adventure we drove through the animal enclosures seeing lions, cheeky monkeys (watch out for the wipers and aerial), zebras, tigers, deer, camels, wolves and many more animals.

 It was an amazing experience to see so many beautiful animals and every animal seem happy.

Another highlight of our trip were the maze, the meerkats, parrots, lemurs, penguins.

My son really enjoyed the deadly 60 attraction based on the BBC television show. Steve Backshall sends us on a mission to find deadly animals in the fully themed outdoor challenge arena, The animals aren’t real; we swiped a barcode at kiosks scattered around the challenge area.The game was played under a time limit and we had to complete 10 challenges. When we finished went back to Mission control and collect our own personal score certificate. We were  was pleased with our score.  The game experience has kept us fit too!

On the whole we had a lovely family day out. Longleat is a wonderful place and we promised we go again even though it is an expensive attraction but it is great for children and parents alike!

Matara Gardens of Wellbeing

Summer is the perfect time to discover one of the most amazing gardens near Tetbury, Gloucestershire. The Matara Gardens at Kingcote location is a spiritual unique place with beautiful grounds, gardens and buildings.

There is a Chinese-inspired cloistered garden with its pagoda, pond and waterfall, as well as many woodland and walled gardens, herb gardens and meditation spirals and trails.

We had fun exploring this magical place and every detail was precious.

Wander through woods and wildflower meadow where was awash with a variety of colourful wild flowers such as buttercups, red clover, poppies, as well as many grass varieties.

The bees and other insects were busy frantically gathered pollen and nectar from the flowers.

Then we walked further and find the wish tree, maze, ponds, sculptures and the walled garden. It’s all very picturesque and tranquil. Stepping into this beautiful garden you feel immediately a sense of calm.  It has a lovely relaxed, natural feel.

Yes it is that simple!  This garden inspired me and let my imagination and energy roam free.

It was great to explore somewhere new!

When in Rome …” Exhibition at Corinium Museum, Cirencester

Calligraphy is a kind of music not for the ears, but for the eyes. (V. Lazursky)

 

The Corinium  museum open its doors to the Gloucestershire Lettering Arts (GLA) exhibition “When in Rome..” from 14 Feb 15 to 15 Mar 15). The main goal of the GLA Society is  to raise the level of awareness of calligraphy, lettering and the book arts. The exhibition ‘When in Rome’  presents a variety of calligraphy and lettering arts.

The word Calligraphy (comes from the Greek καλλιγραφία — “beautiful handwriting”) — is the art of beautiful and clear writing.

I took a calligraphy class years 14 years ago to learn how to do this. I started with foundational hand which is the key to other forms of lettering learned about the history of the development of calligraphy about materials and methods of use, writing patterns, decorations. It was a magical experience and I found the course fascinating.  You can see an example of my lettering work here:

Foxglove

Calligraphy is a magical skill that demands time and focus allow us to express ourselves creatively, teach us determination and patience, and elevates the soul.

Seeing the most recent exhibition at the Corinium museum I have re-discover my love for calligraphy.

Visiting the exhibition you can see on display the four volumes of contemporary work done in response to the Lindisfarne Gospels in 2013 by just over 200 contributors from around the UK, including 6 from GLA, and some from Japan and Portugal.

 

The calligraphers were asked by the International Research Centre for Calligraphy at the University of Sunderland to contribute original work in a fusion of styles to bring together old and new, with a balance of planned direction and freedom to use their own skills and enjoy making the book together. And this was achieved in a remarkably short period.

The finished pages were displayed in the Cathedral during the Writing 2013 Calligraphy Symposium at Durham while the original Lindisfarne Gospels were exhibited there. These pages were later bound in 4 volumes, called “Letters after Lindisfarne”, and presented to Durham Cathedral Library to be used as a lasting educational resource alongside their medieval manuscripts.

People should go along to see the exhibition what the modern calligraphers have achieved, taking the medieval manuscripts of the Lindisfarne Gospels as their inspiration for the books and the Roman theme for the exhibition.

Calligraphy is a unique art is a skill worth preserving for the future generations!

 

www.coriniummuseum.org

A glimpse of beautiful Dumfries and Galloway!

This Summer we explored the Dumfries and Galloway in South West of Scotland.

Threave castle

Scotland and its borders is a lovely region known for its gentle hills, beautiful river valleys, stunning landscape and has a natural beauty. My husband has lived and worked there as a teacher for 10 years and he wanted to return after 20years and to share with us his past memories from this area!

Garwald rivers and waterfalls

The South-West is home to Dumfries and Galloway, has an incredibly rich history all of its own, and areas of outstanding natural beauty, from sandy beaches and rolling hills to craggy mountains and vast forests, are home to a plethora of amazing wildlife. Our summer adventure started with our first stop at Lancaster and the visit to the Williamson Park and the Ashton Memorial, and next stop was at Carlisle castle and the museum.

St. Mary’s Loch

We have explored old buildings, ruins and museums, but Dumfries and Galloway also has much to offer in the great outdoors! The Grey Mare’s Tail National Nature Reserve it was an excellent day out and we enjoyed the steep climb, the walk and the picnic by the lake and we were very so happy to experience the peace and tranquility of this special place.

Grey’s Mare Tail

Eskdale prehistoric trail it is an interesting historic place in the Eskdalemuir valley with many prehistoric remains. Some of the sites we visited with prehistoric significance were: Bessie’s Hill Fort, Castle O’er a spectacular fort with a great view up and down the valley, the Lupin and Girdle Stanes by the river Esk very impressive too. It is still a mystery what these stones, forts and enclosures meant to our ancestors?

Kagyu Saye-ling is a large Tibetan Buddhist monastery. The gardens and the temple is really beautiful. There is a shop and a café where we spent lots of time and met some of my husband’s friends. We also enjoyed our walk to Garwald and saw impressive waterfalls.

Kagyu Samye Ling, Eskdalemuir

Other places which caught our attention were: Traquair House one of the Scot’s favourite haunts, St Mary’s Loch, Threave castle, MacLellan’s Castle in the town of Kirkcudbright, Heritage castle.We also have explored the spectacular landscape and discover the history of Langholm and Newcastleton Hills.

Traquair House

And to finally wrap up, we explored Abbotsford the historic home of Sir Walter Scott in the Socttish borders. He was the most famous poet, novelist and man of letters in Scottish literature and a keen antiquarian. His library and the collection of books about magic was really fascinating.

Abbotsford – Sir Walter’s Scott house

I am glad I visited this part of bonnie land Scotland, a hidden gem of tranquil countryside and left a bit of my soul and heart there. Would go back again in a minute. Wonderful!

Heritage House

I hope this overview of what we have seen and experienced in Dumfries and Galloway has been a true inspiration for you and you will be able to pay a visit one day.

To say the least – It was a wonderful experience !!

Upton Blues Festival 2014!

Attended Upton blues festival on Sunday 20/7/14 while celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary!!

Upton blues festival is a very popular festival, and probably one of the biggest free blues festivals around in UK.  Set in the beautiful Worcestershire riverside town of Upton upon Severn.  The festival celebrated its 13th anniversary – featured the Best of British Blues plus some from US and Netherlands too.

Bands and musicians played at pubs, bars and other venues throughout the town and down on the waterfront.  The event attracted many people and the town had such a great vibe, 100 gigs over the three days (18/7-20/7, 2014)!  Some of the bands which performed  included : Groovy Head, TroubleShooters, Doctors Order,The Real Raj, The SpikeDrivers, Henry’s Funeral Shoe.                                  

Real Raj!

We came in 2011 and had a fabulous time. It was a brilliant atmosphere!! This year was fantastic too!  We love Upton blues festival – it really is special event.

We had a fabulous time and the music was great!

Cigar box guitars

More information can be found on the http://uptonbluesfestival.org.uk/

Bradford on Avon!

I’ve been very quiet for a while and didn’t post anything…..but recently, we paid a visit to historic wool town Bradford on Avon. Bradford-on-Avon is lovely – been there a few times. It’s such a charming town!