MSS ELAINEOUS VISITS CHELSEA IN BLOOM...

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) event, the Chelsea Flower Show, dates back to 1912 and is held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, in London.  It is attended by members of the royal family and tickets are pretty expensive- the cheapest I found available over the five days was £47.

But Chelsea in Bloom is an event which runs concurrently- it's where businesses in the area decorate their premises with floral displays, and it's free to attend.  I just had to pop along with my trusty camera!

As I exited from Sloane Square station, this colourful delight was the first thing I saw (it was difficult to miss!)  It's one of five large installations, and is a hungry caterpillar... 

Look, you can see where he's taken a nibble out of this apple!😄

The inside of the apple was crafted from some kind of gorse (maybe my horticulturally minded friends can educate me as to what, exactly?)

The theme for this year was Floral Feasts, and this gorgeous wedding cake was outside Hackett...

More Hackett delights, and this cake and sandwiches were all made out of flowers.

A warning- if you do go, don't go on the last day, as I did.  Many installations had wilted, and some had been removed.  Indeed, a few days before this a floral cheeseboard and roast chicken sat outside this shop!

Next door, and I recognise the hydrangeas growing here as we had them in our garden when I was a kid.💜

Cartier's majestic entrance decorations and smartly dressed doormen...

The second key installation I saw was The Lady and the Tramp, and here you can see them partaking of their romantic spaghetti and meatball dinner.  I was so enthralled by this that I had to watch the film later that weekend!💓

Around the corner we had popsicles, and the flowers at the base had already wilted badly (so I edited them out...)

The third installation was entitled Candy Floss.

I'm not sure how long Chelsea in Bloom has been going on- I have researched it and can find no evidence of it prior to 2006.  Maybe one of you can shed some light on the matter?

The fourth grand installation was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  It was very busy, which made it difficult for me to get a decent photo, but you can see the gold tickets hanging down from the foliage...

A close-up, and this year's charity partner is The Felix Project, which fights against hunger and food waste across London.  Donations could be pledged and event T-shirts bought...

Outside Trinny London, and these lemons look succulent!  

This store won the People's Champion Award for its display.  This is where a group of experts choose their favourites and then open voting takes place to determine the winner.  The public can also enter competitions which take place in some of the participating stores.

I love this horse, and you have to try and duck between people to get a decent photo as it's so busy!

The horse's rear, and there is a smaller sister event, Belgravia in Bloom, in neighbouring Belgravia.  Unfortunately I only heard about it after I'd returned home.  Reports dictate that I wasn't missing much and that there were only a couple of displays worth viewing, but I would have liked to have seen it.

What's left of the flowers are donated to The Confetti Club- they repurpose flowers into biodegradable confetti petals, and all of their profits go to Cancer Research UK.

I tried to capture both cakes as one appears to be spilling jam flowers, and the other some kind of floral tutti-frutti...

Rickshaw rides and walking tours also take place.  I'm not sure what this is supposed to be- a partridge in a pear tree, perhaps?  Or a floral roast chicken dinner?

And now we come to my favourite piece...

Brazilian singer, dancer and actress Carmen Miranda hovering around Granado's doorway.  The company originated in Rio de Janeiro, and sell natural remedies created from plants, flowers and herbs.

THIS was the best shop display.

💜💛💓💙💚

Strawberries on the side of jewellery store, Les Nereides, taken from over the road.  I had to select my moment carefully, so as not to get a shot of the number 22 bus!

I'm not sure how this display outside British perfumer, Penhaligon's, fits in with the Floral Feasts theme, but it looks elegant enough...

We now come to the fifth and final- and possibly my favourite- installation; Winnie-the-Pooh.  This is utterly charming, with all of the characters acting to type!

💓

The event does go on further down Kings Road- indeed I saw online evidence of pizza flowers, overflowing martini glasses and make-up jars, but it does become more scant and I'd seen all I needed to see...

I'll finish with this in-store display which discusses the delights of floral dining table displays...

Local St Mary's Church also had a floral display featured in its interior- but I missed it as I visited on the Sunday, and it was dismantled on the Saturday.  As I said before, GO EARLY IN THE WEEK!!!!

Next year I will plan accordingly, and take in everything this event has to offer.

TTFN

Miss Elaineous

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXX
X

YOUTUBE THE HARDY TREE VLOG LIVE...

The Hardy Tree, Camden, London. Wow! Whatever has happened to it?

Link:-

https://youtu.be/mWImR48yGj4

Situated in St Pancras Old Church, the Hardy Tree came into being in the mid 1860s, as Britain's rail system experienced extreme growth, due to industrialisation and the growing number of commuters. Rail expansion directly affected the graveyard at St Pancras Old Church, and the human remains had to be exhumed and reburied at another site to make way for the new train line.

An architecture firm was contracted to perform this sensitive task, and traditionally unpleasant work is always dumped onto the lowest employee in the pecking order. That, at the time, was Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) who would later go on to pen such classics as Far from the Maddening Crowd and Tess of the D'Ubervilles.

After the completion of the exhumations, there remained the question of what to do with the hundreds of remaining headstones. Hardy derived the solution of placing them in a circular pattern around one of the trees in a spot safe from the railway expansion. Over time the tree has absorbed many of the headstones, and offers up a kind of grotesque artistic, macabre beauty.

But is this theory correct or could something else have happened? There are a couple of alternative scenarios that I look at in this video, and I'll discuss what the fate was of this once-majestic ash tree.

Do check out this interesting tree and secluded graveyard, and check out my St Pancras Old Church blog.  Remember, I will always be a writer before anything else!

https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2017/09/miss-elaineous-visits-st-pancras-old.html

Remember to like and subscribe, and don't forget to follow this blog as well!

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXX
X

YOUTUBE EASTBURY MANOR HOUSE VLOG LIVE...

Eastbury Manor House is an Elizabethan mansion smack bang in the centre of a housing estate in Dagenham, Essex, and sits on land which was once part of the demesne of Barking Abbey. The area was not densely populated in the way it is today, and there wouldn't have been other homes in the vicinity, leading to an unspoiled view.

Building began in 1566- with completion in 1573- for Clement Sisley, a wealthy merchant. It was probably the first brick building in the area at the time, with glass windows and high chimneys indicating the wealth of its owner. Note that this is a house that gentry would have lived in- not aristocracy. There is a story relating to this house in that it has been said that the conspirators who coordinated the Gunpowder Plot held their meetings here. Others say that it was the residence of Lord Monteagle when he received the letter which led to the said plot's discovery. Check out the video and see if these rumours are true or not, and also take a look at the intriguing markings in the brickwork on the exterior of the building. What could they represent?

Link here:-

https://youtu.be/jbnHFT8mFc4

I have blogged about Eastbury Manor House too, and below is the link:- http://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2018/09/miss-elaineous-visits-eastbury-manor.html

Remember to like and subscribe, and don't forget to follow this blog as well!

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXX

X

YOUTUBE BARKING ABBEY VLOG LIVE...

 Barking Abbey, Essex, was established circa 666 AD and disestablished in 1539, during the dissolution of the monasteries, with demolition beginning the following year. Once the second richest abbey in England, thanks to Royal grants, there really is not much of it left- with the Curfew Tower being the only significant feature- but it's very atmospheric and peaceful, and certainly worth an hour of your time.

Once a "double house" meaning both nuns and monks lived here, it became a single-sex Benedictine nunnery about a hundred years after it was destroyed by Vikings in 871 AD.

People who believed they were possessed by evil spirts would come to see the Abbess of Barking to be exorcised, and it's said that it's from that ritual that the phrase "barking mad" originates! Halloween trick or treating is also said to originate from here, as people were sent to the abbey to be cured of witchcraft. That also takes into account that the date of the abbey's founding- 666- is the devil's number!

Come and take a wander with me as I look around the abbey and the neighbouring St Margaret's Church graveyard, in search of four elusive skulls...

Link here:-

https://youtu.be/G6APfktjqqQ

Don't forget to check out the blog I have put together about these interesting abbey remains and the neighbouring church and graveyard.  I will always be a writer before anything else!

https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2024/05/miiss-elaineous-visits-barking-abbey.html

Remember to like and subscribe, and don't forget to follow this blog as well!

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXX
X

MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS BARKING ABBEY...

 I think this is something that can be described as more of a "look" than a "visit" as there's really not that much of Barking Abbey, Essex, to see.  What there is, however, is interesting enough.

Outside was a timeline regarding the Abbey's history, and it was established circa 666 AD and disestablished in 1539, during the dissolution of the monasteries.  Thanks to Royal grants Barking Abbey was once the second richest abbey in England, runner-up only to Shaftesbury Abbey in Dorset.

A closer view, and Barking Abbey was founded by St Erkenwald and was a "double house" meaning both nuns and monks lived here.  St Ethelburga- the sister of Erkenwald- served as the first abbess.

I entered via the Curfew Tower, which is the only remaining notable remnant of the abbey.  The original tower was built in 1370, but this one dates back to 1460.

Some parts of the tower still date from the 14th century...

The roof inside this Grade II listed  medieval tower.  The tower has been repaired several times, and was extensively restored in 2005/2006, which cost £130,000. 

Descriptive and informative plaque inside the tower, and the tower is also known as the Fire Bell Gate.

The Fire Bell Gate refers to when the bell would have been rung to signify the time had arrived for the putting out of fires and candles, in preparation for bedtime.

The door to the tower, off to one side.

The word curfew means "cover your fire."  It comes from old French word cuevrefeu, which derives from cuvir- to cover, and feu- fire.

Standing back, and it was not easy to get a decent piccie of the back of the Curfew Tower for all of the fecund foliage in the graveyard!

On entering the abbey's grounds there is another information board.

The abbey was destroyed by Vikings in 871 AD and restored about a century later as a single-sex Benedictine nunnery. 

The remains of the abbey...

Benedictine is a "moderate" order, where nothing harsh or burdensome in the way of behaviours was dictated.  Instead, the days revolved around what we would call a work-life-balance; between spiritual responsibilities and daily chores.  Everything had to be done in moderation.

A dowry was needed to join Barking Abbey, so it became a nunnery of choice for upper-class women. 

There were several of these little fellas playing here!😀

The Abbess of Barking held precedence over every other abbess in England.  Originally the King appointed the abbess, but under the rule of King John (r.1199-1216) that changed, and the nuns then elected their abbess themselves.  

More grey squirrels havin' fun amongst the ruins!

Several saints, former queens and daughters of kings served as abbess here, including three Maudes- the wife of Henry I, the wife of King Stephen and the daughter of Henry II.

At the time Barking estate stretched from Southend to the Tower of London, and was large enough for William the Conqueror (r.1066-1087) and his followers to stay here whilst the Tower was being built.

Mary, the sister of murdered Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket (1118-1170), was appointed abbess in 1173, in reparation for his murder.

These steps are obviously modern.

There is no doubt that the abbey was once very rich.  Excavations have revealed fine Spanish and Italian imported pottery, rare coloured glass vessels, elaborate and jewelled bone combs worn by the women; and evidence that they wove gold thread into their church vestments.

Large numbers of writing implements (known as styluses or styli) were also excavated, proving that the inhabitants were educated.

St Ethelburga is known as the first woman playwright. 

Incidentally writer, philosopher and advocate of women's rights Mary Woollstonecraft (1759-1797)- mother of Mary Shelley of Frankenstein fame- was brought up in Barking.  Prison and social reformer Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) is buried nearby.

People who believed they were possessed by evil spirts would come to see the Abbess of Barking to be exorcised, and it's said that it's from that ritual that the phrase "barking mad" originates!

Halloween trick or treating is also said to originate from here, as people were sent to the abbey to be cured of witchcraft.  That also takes into account that the date of the abbey's founding- 666- is the devil's number!

In 1377 a large portion- around 720 acres- of the abbey's lands near the River Thames flooded, causing severe devastation which the abbey never completely recovered from.

In 1539 the abbey surrendered to the crown during the dissolution of the monasteries.  Anything of value was sold off and demolition of the abbey began in 1540.

The abbess and 30 nuns residing here were all granted pensions.

Here's a set of old steps with a set of more modern (but well worn) steps.

As I said, there really is not much to see- but the remaining walls and stairs are quite atmospheric and this place is certainly worth a wander around.

The Saint's Chapel once stood on this area.  It was created after the chapel was rebuilt, after being destroyed by Vikings.  The remnants and relics of St Ethelburga, St Hildelith, St Tortgith and St Wulfhilda were all interred here.

St Margaret's Church is Grade I listed, dates back to the 13th century and sits in the grounds of Barking Abbey.

Explorer Captain James Cook (1728-1779) was married here, as was England football champion Bobby Moore (1941-1993).

This was a fascinating little graveyard- I'm always intrigued by these "museums of the dead." 

The wonky tree made for a good photo, but the graves to either side of it are of interest.

The white grave to the right is the only painted grave in this graveyard, and belongs to Thomas Nepton; a City of London poulterer who died in 1724.  He decreed that his grave be painted and it does stand out somewhat.

I'm not sure what this monument signifies- there were no discernible markings on it.  I have read that obelisks are an Egyptian symbol, and they represent eternal life and heaven, and can also represent the rays of the sun shining down forever on the deceased (I took these photos on two different days, and on this day there was indeed sunshine!)

I was intrigued by the skulls holding the obelisk up, and also the markings on the side, which look like cherubs.  Cherubs represent spiritual resurrection.

Skulls are death's head imagery, and Little Miss Macabre just had to sneak in for a close-up!😁

This grave had worn and knobbly stones on it pushed into its top coat of cement.  To me they looked like grey Maltesers!

Outside of the abbey, by the wall was this set of mini-stairs.  I was intrigued by where they originally led or what purpose they served...

The  squirrels here appeared to be quite tame, but soon scuttled off when they realised I had no food to give them!

I loved this tree, which I nicknamed "The leaning Tower of Treesa..."  Yes, I'm aware that I'm not right in the head!

Probably the clearest Curfew Tower photo I managed to take from this side, peeking out between the trees.

Just across the road from Barking Abbey is Cristina's, The Casual Steakhouse, and I thought their pink and white cow (I take it that means this particular one is served rare?!😁) funny and quirky, and worthy of a piccie!

After two explores, I think I am done with Barking Abbey for now.

TTFN

Miss Elaineous

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXX
X