The beautiful Mud Maid in The Lost Gardens of Heligan, near Mevagissey in Cornwall, has been there for a long time already and will be there for a very long time to come. She is the work of Cornish sculptors Sue Hill and Pete Hill and is a favourite for our Grandchildren to visit. They love the Giant too. For others in this Challenge, click this link.
Mud Maid by Sue Hill and Pete Hill
We visited the Lost Gardens of Heligan this morning. The changing room for babies caught my eye!
Baby changing room at Heligan
Last year, in the gardens, there was a wonderfully moving commemoration of the start of World War 1. You can read about it here. Thousands of poppies were planted for the event but, as is the way with poppies, they chose their own time to bloom and there were few around last year. This year they have bloomed in their thousands and make for a most moving spectacle. Click your way through the gallery and enjoy them as much as we did.
3 The Giant is always one of our favourites and the Live-Wires all love him. Wish they had been with us today.Here he is for them!
The Heligan Giant, made by Sue Hill and Pete Hill
Thank you for this one, Di
The afternoon at The Lost Gardens evoked the Heligan of the past beautifully with the laundry girls washing the sheets and putting them to dry on the lawn, the gardeners working hard in the kitchen garden and suddenly being told of the outbreak of war and that they would be needed. All the time strains of music could be heard from the local bands and our very own singers from Claire’s three choirs, brought together as the Ingleheart 100 for the day. Click on any photo for detail. Thank you to the lovely Mr S for some of the photos.
The next post will show the rest of the afternoon and evening as the tragic events of the war unfold.
100: The Day Our World Changed remembered the local men who went to war a hundred years ago and told the stories of the people they left behind. It was a beautiful, respectful and very moving event that I was lucky enough to be a part of, singing with the Inglehearts 100, made up of Claire’s three choirs.
The following gallery takes you through the morning in Mevagissey; my next post will take you up to The Lost Gardens of Heligan as the tragic events unfold in the afternoon.
Thank you to the lovely Mr S for some of these photos, taken while I was singing.
1 I’m still reeling from yesterday’s wonderfully moving production. Tomorrow, I promise, the photos of the event. For now, – war has just been declared and recruitment has begun.
Who is going to volunteer?
2 As each Day Lily fades there is the most beautiful veining in the petals for just a couple of hours each day.
Beautiful veining
3 We’ve been so busy recently that I thought I’d missed finding strawberries to make the best jam in the world! Today we found some reduced English strawberries and so have started off the freezer jam. Because it isn’t cooked, it retains the truly delicious taste of just picked strawberries……… I’ll put the very easy recipe up the days after tomorrow when it is finished.
Strawberry freezer jam started
1 I have assembled all my 1914 outfit for the Wildworks event 100: The Day Our World Changed tomorrow and I’m really rather pleased with the effect!
My outfit for Heligan
A long view
2 The Day Lily buds keep coming and the Agapanthus is almost fully open – we are delighted with the way the colours look together.
Agapanthus and Day Lily
3 For one reason and another, we have been rather late harvesting our Broad Beans and they needed double podding. So, as well as having some for supper tonight and freezing away a heap for later, I have made a scrumptious Broad Bean Soup with some delicious chicken stock from an organic chicken I cooked a few days ago and using all the skins and the biggest beans – two pints frozen away for a summer taste in winter. Success!
Broad bean harvest
I love how the beans rest in their little furry pod
What a fabulous day rehearsing for “100:The Day Our World Changed” at The Lost Gardens of Heligan. We started in Mevagissey on the quay as the production will next Sunday and waved off the new recruits with a beautiful and very moving old song called ‘The Soldier’s Farewell’. From there we moved on up to Heligan’s lovely gardens and continued discovering how the songs we have been rehearsing are to fit into the production. Click on any photo in the Gallery to get a sense of the rehearsals and an idea of the beauty of the gardens – and if you live in Cornwall or are visiting next weekend, come to join in this amazing immersive theatrical production involving the local community. It will be brilliant.
1 The horses in our back field were moved to a further field today but before they went, I caught these beautiful photos as they were close to our wall.
Breakfast time
Mother and baby
2 The purple clematis is climbing up the arched Larch and is very pleasing.
Clematis Jackmanii Superba
2 At singing tonight we have been rehearsing for an event at The Lost Gardens of Heligan on 3rd August.
100 Days at Heligan
1 We went to The Lost Gardens of Heligan today to watch the Shire horses ploughing. What skill and what a pleasure to watch man and beasts at work. Listening to his instructions and watching the horses reactions was brilliant. He always started with, “Now, listen, horses!” and they did!
The long view
2 The sea at Mevagissey was a beautiful blue.
View of the sea as we left Heligan
3 Tonight, The Suitcase Singers had a gig at Miss Peapod’s and the wonderful Rachel Rose Reid told some of her amazing stories which were just so moving, especially with the backing of the singers. I have no voice tonight so was in the audience – and what a treat that was! Under Claire Ingleheart’s tutelage we have become quite the choir! We look good, we sound good and we have fun. What’s more, the audience all around me agreed with me! Thank you, Suitcase Singers, Daisy Berks and Rachel Rose Reid for an excellent night of entertainment.
Rachel Rose Reid telling a story
Moon over The Penryn River
1 I found some delightful little measuring flasks while shopping yesterday.
Tiny new measuring jugs
2 It was our lovely neighbour’s birthday while we were away and today I baked her a Lime, Yogurt and Rose Petal Cake for the party this evening. Recipe coming soon and it is both easy and dee-licious!
Yogurt and Lime with Rose Petal Cake
3 The party was at the Allotments and it rained all evening but we had a lovely time. The barbecue was kept dry with big umbrellas and everyone had fun! The staff at the Lost Gardens of Heligan staff had made Sue a birthday cake in the shape of the Heligan Giant that she and Pete sculpted.
Giant Cake
Barbeque in the rain
Party in the pouring rain
Going home in the rain
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