Tag Archives: England

Estate Tours: The Rare Musical Instruments Of Holdenby House, England

When you visit a stately home like Holdenby, you expect the pomp, the glamor, the sense of history. Less expected, perhaps, is a museum for some of the rarest musical instruments around.

Holdenby House is a historic country house in Northamptonshire, traditionally pronounced, and sometimes spelt, Holmby. The house is situated in the parish of Holdenby, six miles northwest of Northampton and close to Althorp. It is a Grade II* listed building.

From An American Aristocrat’s Guide to Great Estates: https://bit.ly/2YK7Yn4

Profile Video: French-English Textile Artist ‘Valerie Wartelle’

My main fascination lies within the manipulation of fibres and textiles as an expressive art form. Taking the rural environment as my inspiration,I explore long-term interests of texture, colour, layering and process to create contemplative and ethereal artworks.

   My primary technique is wet felting; a traditional craft technique using wool tops, hot water, soapsuds and friction to interlock the fibres together. The making is muscular and rhythmic as I lay, pour, roll and squeeze again and again. It seems repetition nudges me into a semi-meditative space – it invites me to trust myself, and let the haptic connections sinuously paint a new space for the viewer to contemplate.

The compositions are built in layers, hinting at what may lie beneath, and use translucency and light to create absorbing moods. These are highly textured felt pieces in which cloth is embedded, prints disguised, and threads unravelled as a painter with her brush. The analogy with painting is significant throughout, making the viewing inquisitive, and challenging people’s perception.

   Brought up in France and French Polynesia, I originally came to the UK to study textile design and am now a widely exhibited artist working and living in West Yorkshire. In 2015, I was awarded the Embroidery Magazine’s Best Emerging Textile Artist at SIT Select Showcase, as well as Best Picture in Show at theGreat North Art Show.

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Aerial Tours: ‘Cromer’, North Sea Coast, England

Cromer is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is approximately 23 miles north of the county town of Norwich, 116 miles north-northeast of London and 4 miles east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. 

Cromer is a traditional Victorian seaside resort, with a sand and shingle beach popular for swimming and surfing. Many of the buildings in the town date back to the Victorian era, although the town has expanded rapidly in the last fifty years. Some shelter is provided by the pier, which houses a theatre and gardens.Cromer beach and pier are part of the quintessentially Victorian seaside resort of Cromer, on the popular North Norfolk coast. Just along the road from Sheringham and West Runton, and just around the corner from Overstrand, Cromer beach, just like many other Norfolk beaches, has so much to offer, from the little fun fair on the promenade to a museum on the beach front, to the wonderful iconic Pier with its Pavilion Theatre and lifeboat station at the end. Never a dull moment.

Walking Tours: ‘Windsor’- Berkshire, England (Video)

Walking in Windsor Town Centre, including Castle Hill, Peascod Street, Bridgewater Way, Windsor and Eton Central Station, Thames Street and Alexandra Park. 📅 Filmed on the 31st October 2020

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS / 🏛️ POINTS OF INTEREST 0:00 – Intro 0:57 – Cobbled streets Side Streets 1:56 – Windsor Castle’s Walls 2:13 – Castle Hill 3:05 – Thames St and Windsor Castle’s Walls 3:25 – Peascod Street 12:25 – Windsor Yards Shopping Centre 14:41 – Windsor and Eton Central Station 18:39 – Thames Street 21:30 – Narrow Passage 21:56 – Diamond Jubilee Monument 22.47 – Alexandra Park

Windsor is a town on the River Thames in southeast England, just west of London. It’s home to Windsor Castle, a residence of the British Royal Family. Built by William The Conqueror in the 11th century, the castle was extensively remodelled by subsequent monarchs. Public tours take in the State Apartments, which contain opulent furnishings, and paintings from the royal art collection.

Art History: ‘Watercolor In The Renaissance’ (Video)

Focussing on the three types of object featured in the V&A display Renaissance Watercolours: illuminated manuscripts, portrait miniatures and coloured drawings, this film showcases the qualities that made watercolour the medium of choice for many artists during the Renaissance.

A modern-day painting of a pomegranate, using traditional watercolour techniques, by artist Lucy Smith, also demonstrates how watercolour painting remains a versatile medium, ideal for capturing life-like details that help us to record our diverse world.

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Literary Travel: ‘Hill Top’ – Cumbria, England Home Of Beatrix Potter (Video)

Hill Top, the much-loved Cumbrian home of author Beatrix Potter, creator of the character Peter Rabbit™. Although the farm is closed at the moment you can still explore the writer’s paintings, drawings, treasured objects, as well as the surrounding countryside that inspired her. Look out for your favourite characters along the way.

Hill Top is a 17th-century house in Near Sawrey near Hawkshead, in the English county of Cumbria. It is an example of Lakeland vernacular architecture with random stone walls and slate roof. The house was once the home of children’s author and illustrator Beatrix Potter who left it to the National Trust.

Book Podcast: ‘Borough Market – Edible Histories’ Author Mark Riddaway

Award-winning food writer Mark Riddaway travels back through the centuries to tell the fascinating, surprising and often downright bizarre stories of some of the everyday ingredients found at London’s Borough Market.

Discover how the strawberries we eat today had their roots in a clandestine trip to South America by a French spy whose surname happened to be Strawberry, why three-quarters of Britain’s late-18th-century intake of tea was sold on the black market, and what Sigmund Freud found so fascinating about eel genitalia.

From the humble apples and onions that we’ve grown on these shores for centuries, to more exotic ingredients like cinnamon and bananas that travel from across the world to finesse our food, Borough Market: Edible Histories offers a chance to digest the charming stories behind every last morsel.