MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS CHELSEA PHYSIC GARDEN...

 I visited Chelsea Physic Garden as part of London's Open House Festival, whereby certain tourist attractions and buildings are free to enter.

Situated on the River Thames Embankment, and close to the Royal Hospital Chelsea- home to the Chelsea Pensioners (retired British Army veterans)- it was my first time stepping foot inside these high walls.

Founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Societies of Apothecaries of London for its apprentices to study botany and its uses, it is the oldest botanical garden in London; focusing on medicinal, herbal and useful plants. 

This spiral sculpture, standing by the Main Lawn is a double helix, representing DNA).  It celebrates the garden's 350th anniversary, and contains the names of head gardeners and curators from the last 350 years.

It's practical as well as decorative (like all of the plants here) and inside the sculpture is a Himalayan musk rose in need of support.

This statue is of Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753) and is fairly new, dating from 2014.  The original statue of him sits in the British Museum.  He was an Irish physician and naturalist, and he bequeathed his collection of 71,000 items- including books, plant specimens, drawings and coins- to the British nation. 

I crossed the Main Lawn and skirted around this 4 acre site (it's small enough for you to be able to get a good central view from the peripherals).  

This is the Community Kitchen Garden. 

The Learning Centre, and the garden was initially established on a leased site from Sir John Danvers' garden (he was an English courtier and politician), which adjoined what had once been the home of Sir Thomas More; a Lord Chancellor who was convicted of treason during the reign of Henry VIII.

Danvers House was destroyed in 1696, and the area is now Danvers Street.

There was a seasonal exhibition of squashes going on around the Miller Beds...

...Including this pumpkin.  Well, Halloween is imminent! 

A marrow in its bed...

It was Sir Hans Sloane who leased Chelsea Physic Garden's current site to the Society of Apothecaries, in 1722, for £5 a year in perpetuity.  The proviso was that the garden supply the Royal Society, of which he was principal, herbarium samples.

Other, hanging squashes, with a reminder to appreciate them with your eyes and not your hands!

Oceania Beds...

You have to duck to navigate this tree!

Cool Fernery...

The Cool Fernery contains atmospheric ponds...

In England, these gardens are only surpassed in age by the University of Oxford Botanic Garden.

This garden is truly unique, as it's the only botanic garden focused on medicinal, herbal and useful plants.

On the Lower Lawn is a Chilean wine palm...

The Lower Lawn and Woodland Walk sit adjacent to one another...

Wooden walkway in the Woodland Walk...

Rustic grille- I'm not sure if this was meant for protection or nurturing climbers...

The garden contains trees and plants of varying sizes; like this giant creeping out through the wilderness...

A closer view, and some of these trees are positively tropical, with the high walls of the garden creating a micro-climate.

The Embankment Gate serves as a reminder that you're not far away from the bustle of London...

Skinny tree near the gate...

Ginkgo Biloba.

Walking through the twisty branches of the Ginkgo Biloba made me feel like I was entering an enchantment!

Dicotyledon Order Beds...

Dicotyledon means a flowering plant with an embryo that bears two seed leaves.

Steps down to the Pond...

There was an interactive session for children going on by the Pond.  Here is a welcoming frog!

British Natives section by the pond...

Stoneware in the Garden of Useful Plants...

The Physic Garden is one of the most important centres for botany and plant exchange in the world, and the Wardian Case offers protective transportation.

I believe this is a pomegranate bush...

Centre circular display...

There is a Latin America Bed in this area, so that explains these jungle-like vines...

Colour intersperses the abundant greenery...

Rain barrel and a beehive...

Compost heap...

The cardoon is also known as the artichoke thistle, and is purple/pink in colour when in bloom.  These are moribund, and looked a tad scary- shades of Blair Witch, methinks!

Garden of Edible Plants...

A grapevine, and this appears to have been harvested...

Back through the Dicotyledon Order Beds...

These ordered beds are a riot of textures, with pops of colour...

Tidy, lower-level plants...

And wilder species, forming their own arch.  Expect to be bitten by flying things when you come here!

A crimson bromeliad.  I remember seeing these in Penzance- the climate is quite temperate in south west England.

The Atlantic Islands Border and a skinny tree...

Fun fact: when I was 8 I did a school project about trees.  My father, who had studied botany, told me all their Latin names (shame I can't remember them!)

Looking over to the central part of the garden, and this garden is certainly worth a good hour or so of your time...

Sheds 'n' beds...

Pomegranate tree...

Garden of Medicinal Plants...

Seating leading off from this garden- it's a nice place to bring your own picnic and sit and contemplate awhile...

More of this medicinal meadow...

Some of these plants contain signs warning you that they're poisonous...

A profusion of different plants, and they're divided according to what bodily part/ ailment they're aimed at.

Grapefruit tree...

Nurturing glasshouses...

Xerophytic Bed (translated as a dry garden/ arid bed...)

This greenhouse is out of bounds, reminding us that these are very much working botanic gardens...

Walking down the Tropical Corridoor glasshouse, and the trunk of this plant reminded me of a toad! 

Tropical leaves...

Spider plant...

Pitcher plants are carniverous, and I've seen them before in Kew Gardens.

Pelagonioums are commonly called geraniums...

The pelagonium carnosum (or fleshy stalk pelargonium) reminded me of a Japanese bonsai tree!

View of one of the smaller greenhouses, and Chelsea Physic Garden includes 5,000 plants.

Aeoniums are succulents I've seen before, in the Isles of Scilly...

I also saw Red Kniphofia (red-hot pokers) growing in the Isles of Scilly...

The Salvia Walk... 

Over time, parts of the garden have been lost to road development...

...This would include the 1874 construction of the Chelsea Embankment, on the north bank of the River Thames.

The garden became a charity in 1983...

The garden opened to the public for the first time in 1987.

Pond Rockery.

Curator's House.

I finished my day with a walk by the aforementioned Chelsea Embankment, and to the right is Albert Bridge...

Opposite, on the south bank of the Thames is the London peace Pagoda; a Buddhist temple built in 1985.

To the left is Chelsea Bridge.

 Chelsea Physic Garden, I have plans to return...

Until then,

TTFN

Miss Elaineous

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YOUTUBE HYDE PARK PET CEMETERY VLOG NOW LIVE!

  My YouTube Hyde Park Pet Cemetery vlog is now live!

 

Link:-

https://youtu.be/mP_XO8Y0QDE

The only way it was possible to enter the Pet Cemetery section of Hyde Park was via one of their Hidden Stories of Hyde Park tours, so I duly paid and signed up.

The Pet Cemetery was opened in 1881.  Mr Winbridge was the gatekeeper and he began burying dogs in the garden, starting with a Maltese Terrier called Cherry, whose owners were friends of the gatekeeper and who used to visit the park frequently.  The second dog to be interred here was Prince, who was owned by Sarah Fairbrother, an actress who called herself Louisa and who was married (illegally) to HRH Prince George of Cambridge.  From then on a trend was started, and the cemetery became the place for the fashionable members of society who lived near the park to bury their much-loved pets.  Mr Winbridge carried out the interments  (usually alone, as the owners were often too distressed to attend), placing the deceased animals in canvas bags, which he then sewed up, before burying them.  There are several birds buried here, and at least one monkey. 

Come and take a walk in my shoes and I'll tell you a bit about this Lilliputian graveyard, which George Orwell called 'the most horrible spectacle in London'.  Some of the animals had "human" names, and some pet names, such as Tippo, Butcha, Moussoo and Chips.  But Smut, Phisto, Titsy, Drag and Scum?  I pity those poor animals, and I also pity Balu, who was allegedly murdered!  

As you know, first and foremost I am a writer, and I have also blogged about Hyde Park Pet Cemetery, link:-

https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2020/02/miss-elaineous-does-hidden-secrets-of.html

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

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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YOUTUBE EDITH AND PERCY THOMPSON'S GRAVES VLOG NOW LIVE!

 My YouTube Edith and Percy Thompson's graves vlog is now live!

Link:-

https://youtu.be/lDscWGhS5B4

Edith Thompson was a stylish and vivacious young woman, who was married to Percy Thompson but conducting a passionate affair with Frederick Bywaters. Late one night during October 1922, Edith and Percy were walking home from Ilford station after an evening at the theatre in London, when Percy was ambushed and stabbed to death by Freddie.

Even though Freddie insisted that the murder was nothing to do with Edith, both were convicted of Percy's murder and sentenced to death. Edith was convicted under the grounds of common purpose; whereby if more than one individual plots someone's murder, but only one carries the act out, then they are equally culpable. The police were in possession of many letters Edith- a clever wordsmith- had crafted to Freddie. In them, she had mentioned killing her husband, and this was to prove her downfall. Both Edith and Freddie were hanged on 9^th January 1923. Was Edith- an upwardly mobile and thoroughly modern woman- convicted by the morality of the time, and for daring to step out of her class?

Come and take a walk in my shoes and I'll tell you a bit about this sad case. We'll walk past Edith's childhood home in Manor Park, East London, then visit the crime scene only a couple of miles away. We'll also go and find both Percy's and Edith's graves in the City of London Cemetery- bearing in mind that Percy had been exhumed and reburied once, and Edith twice.

As you know, first and foremost I am a writer, so do check out some of my tourist attraction blogs. I can be a touch macabre, and have visited several graveyards and cemeteries. Use the search bar to hunt for the relevant posts.

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

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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YOUTUBE BIG CHARLIE'S GRAVE VLOG NOW LIVE!

 My YouTube Big Charlie's Grave vlog is now live!

Link:-

https://youtu.be/XGhhIRXbq4U

Come and take a walk in my shoes as I do some nosey-parkering around the old Butlin's Filey site, and hunt for the area where the stables and elephant house once sat.

Between 1957-1961 the latter housed Big Charlie; a 5.5 ton Asian elephant who was the largest elephant in captivity at the time.  After his devoted mahout Ibrahim fell ill quite suddenly and passed away, Charlie couldn't settle and became difficult to control (elephants and mahouts mate for life).  It was decided, with advice from the RSPCA, that Charlie was to be gassed whilst he was in his elephant house and at his most relaxed.  His house was sealed off and he was gassed using the fumes from a lorry exhaust- in other words, he died from carbon monoxide poisoning.  It sounds barbaric nowadays, but I'm sure at the time they thought they were doing the right thing.  A pit was dug at the front of the elephant house and he was dragged outside by a tractor, covered in quicklime and buried right there.  

The land is now occupied by The Bay Filey Holiday Park, and where Charlie is buried is now a meadow (I believe it was stipulated, when The Bay acquired the land, that they weren't allowed to build on the area, or exhume Charlie.)  His grave is unmarked but he's been found thanks to overlay maps, and Big Charlie's Grave is now referenced on Google Maps.

As you know, first and foremost I am a writer, and you might like to see my blog detailing the remains of Butlin's Filey, which includes details of Charlie. Link:-

https://elainerockett.blogspot.com/2023/05/miss-elaineous-visits-primrose-valley.html

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

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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WEIRDO, MOSHER, FREAK by CATHERINE SMYTH

WEIRDO. MOSHER. FREAK.

(If only they'd stopped at name calling)

THE MURDER OF SOPHIE LANCASTER

by

CATHERINE SMYTH

THE BLURB:

Twenty-year-old Sophie Lancaster was kicked to death by a pack of 'feral' youths at her local park in Bacup, Lancashire. Her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, was also set upon and received life-threatening injuries.

Their only 'crime' was to dress differently, as 'goths' or 'moshers' in the easy shorthand of the media, which cited the killing as another example of Broken Britain.

Catherine Smyth was the first reporter on the scene and remained at the heart of the story throughout. A mother herself, she writes evocatively of the impact it had on both the Lancaster family and Bacup itself.

Smyth has unearthed several anomalies: the police admitted initially attending the wrong park and the ambulance took 14 minutes to travel a distance of a mile in reaching the scene.

While relating the horrific nature of the attack, Smyth also focuses on the good to rise from evil- a town rallying in support of a stricken family, a mother showing incredibly dignity and, most important of all, a campaign launched to inform the world of the grave dangers of intolerance. As one banner carried at a parade in memory of Sophie proclaimed: 'Hate is easy- love takes courage.'

THE REALITY:

I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed by this one, as it didn't tell me much more than I knew already. Yes, it was good to read about the court procedures from an insider's perspective and see the emergency calls listed, and it was good to learn about the fundraising events following Sophie's death, for the S.O.P.H.I.E. charity. Incidentally, I'm someone who has always been a tad alternative (although, like Sophie and Robert, goth was a name other people labelled me with) and have been to Whitby Goth Weekend (fantastic!) I also have had some negative comments regarding my style of dress thrown my way over the years, so I can certainly relate to that aspect. Whilst I do believe that being assaulted for dressing “differently” should be regarded as a hate crime, as certain styles can make people stand out (and really, we can all wear what we bloody well want!), I agree with Robert Maltby in that the main reason he and Sophie were set upon was because the chav scum doing it were arseholes. The author did mention that jealousy of the attention Rob and Sophie were getting was probably a trigger, and I get where she's coming from. If you look at the five perpetrators, they are identically dressed; cookie cutter fashion- representing those who follow the crowd, and who haven't got the imagination, intellect or courage to look and behave differently. Yes, I can understand why idiots like that would be jealous and insecure when faced with those living their best lives, but to take it as far as they did is truly horrific and evil.

I think that because this book was written by an “insider” it came across as a bit one-dimensional; I suppose in the same way that an autobiography would when compared to a biography. I can understand that, but we really needed more depth and a better-rounded approach. Why were Sophie and Robert's lives not discussed in more detail? This book didn't even note Robert's date of birth, for instance. What did they get up to on a day-to-day basis? We know Robert was a student but did he work as well? We know Sophie was on a gap year but what did she do? Work? Travel? Tell us about their families and how they met. Was it love at first sight? A developing friendship? So much that should have been explored was missed. I don't know Bacup, so provide me with a map detailing their route that night and who they picked up along the way- let us know when it's believed that they first encountered their killers. Maybe add some photos as well, such as the outside of their town centre flat; the garage they visited; the mentioned Fudge Factory area, etc. Show me a plan of the skate park, and plot where the emergency services found them in relationship to the benches/ skating areas, and point out the entrance(s). Give me some (at the risk of sounding ghoulish) crime scene photos, and photographic evidence of the perpetrators' clothing. Tell me exactly what injuries Sophie and Robert had and finally, I know the publishers were trying to keep costs down, but show me some colour photos.

I flattened this book in days and was intending for this to be a bookcase stayer, but it's been relegated to the charity shop bag. As a final note, Sophie's mum's friend, Kate Conboy-Greenwood comes across as very unlikeable in this book- did the author have personal beef with her? An okay read, but it could have been so much better. 

A SISTER'S SHAME by CAROL RIVERS

 A SISTER'S SHAME

by

CAROL RIVERS

THE BLURB:

They'd give up everything to dance on stage, but could they lose each other?

London's East End, 1934. Eighteen-year-old twins Marie and Vesta Haskins work at the local shoe factory but they've never given up on their dream of treading the boards in the West End. When a brand new club opens its doors, the girls audition and are over the moon to land two nights a week with their cabaret act. But little do they realise that the villainous Scoresby brothers are using the club as a front for a very different line of business.

Seeing what is going on behind the smoke and lights of the stage, sensible Marie vows to leave the club before it's too late. But headstrong Vesta has fallen for the handsome right-hand man, Teddy, and unwillingly leads her whole family into the Scoresby's clutches.

Will Marie be able to save her family from disaster? Or will Vesta's determination to become a star tear the Haskins apart?

THE REALITY:

This is one book that took a long while to read- not because it was bad, you understand, but because circumstances prevented me from getting past the first 80 or so pages. But once I picked it up again, I flattened it in days.

This book was character-led, and it was those with a more unusual past; such as previous pub landlady Elsie, and circus showman/ escapologist Wippet and his delightful performing monkey, Kaiser, who seemed to steal the show here. In fact, the latter two played a key role in the downfall of the (spoiler alert!) despicable Scoresby brothers, and we have them to thank for the happy ending.

The East End of London and working class people's habits and customs of the time were brought to life, and I'm glad that some modern day elements of the Isle of Dogs and Greenwich (namely the Greenwich Foot Tunnel) featured as it gave me a base to relate to. Unfortunately, the loving and forgiving nature of the Haskins family towards their errant daughter was not something I could relate to, as over 50 years on my parents were in no way so understanding; although my troubles were nothing like Vesta's. We modern girls have to be very thankful that time has moved on, and that we have the contraceptive pill and legal abortion on offer. Sadly, men like Teddy still exist everywhere. We also all know that the entertainment industry is very tough, and I'm sure the casting couch still exists.

This was a tale of a simple, traditional life winning over the chase towards bright lights and fame, and I really did feel sorry for Vesta and her predicament. I liked the way both girls were named after music hall stars (Vesta Tilley and Marie Lloyd) and could see how their daydreamer father's personality and ideals had impacted his married life. I also liked Marie's repeat horrible dream sequence, and how that was based on real-life circumstance that she'd stored in her subconsciousness. And, of course, I would like the way the fashions of the time were described, but that's just my personal quirk! One thing that did hit home was how simply life seemed to be in general, as to a person's wants and needs- with street parties to celebrate important national events, and a wedding in a local church with a second-hand dress and a reception held in the bride's childhood home. That's nothing like the stupid, extravagant lengths people go to nowadays to impress with their nuptials; forgetting that the relationship is the most important thing in a marriage. But, again, this book displays how there are people out there who want more form life. I can certainly relate to that, as I'm one myself, and could never have been happy with the basic job, husband and children scenario. Sometimes I really do wish I had been that person, but on the other hand I know that lifestyle wouldn't have made me happy.

A light, bright and trite, okay but not enthralling read.