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A Funny Thing Happened at Apsley House

Honestly, you wouldn’t think that two grown, American women with quasi scholastic backgrounds could have such fun at Apsley House. Tell nearly anyone in the general population that you’re going to Apsley House, or The Wellington Museum, and they’ll begin to yawn – or give you odd looks. As did the cab driver who took us to the National Army Museum. “None of my business,” he said,”but do you mind telling me what your interest in the place is?”  “The Duke of Wellington,” Victoria informed him. “Aha,” he said, apparently clueless, as he gave us odd looks in the rearview mirror.

Tell people that your visits to Apsley House have provided you with several good belly laughs and they’ll think you’re mad – it’s not the sort of place one automatically equates with hilarity. I’ve already shared some of these incidents in a previous post. During our last visit, Victoria and I had another funny experience, however this time it was more of the “odd” funny kind, rather than the belly laugh type.

Funnily enough, it was again in the Waterloo Gallery where this incident happened. (What’s up with that room?!) I was gazing out one of the windows that looks out over Hyde Park Gate, Rotten Row and the paved road in the Park. Then, I looked down and spied flowers. Standing on tip toe, I peered down to discover that they were pink roses, growing on bushes that stood in a narrow side yard of the House. I pointed them out to Victoria and later, in an off-hand manner, happened to mention to the docent that the Duke certainly had beautiful roses in his garden.

Well! You would have thought I’d said, “I’ve been sleeping with your husband for the past three years.” Or something equally as shocking. I cannot convey to you the outrage/offense/dismay, almost horror, my innocent remark about the rose garden occasioned.

“No, no,” the docent was quick to argue, “the Duke has no roses in his garden. Those roses are planted in Hyde Park not at Apsley House.”

Victoria and I glanced at one another. The docent’s adamant denials were decidedly odd. The roses were definitely not planted in Hyde Park. See the photo below – it’s dated, but the arrangement of the House, the Park and the Gate are unchanged today. Apsley House is at the right in the photo. The back of the side garden fronts the paved road of the Park. There’s no room at that location in the Park to plant roses.

“But the roses are right there, through that window,” I said, “you just need to look down to see them. They’re in this garden.”

“No, they’re not. They’re planted in Hyde Park!”

Hhhhmm . . . . I glanced around expecting to see White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. Or perhaps Nurse Ratched. I decided to let the matter drop. You betcha. Never let it be said that I don’t know when to beat a retreat. Victoria and I sidled our way into the next room as un-obviously as we could and then began to whisper furiously to one another.

“What’s up with that? She’s telling me that I didn’t see with my own eyes what I just saw with my own eyes and expecting me not to argue the point.”

“I don’t know . . . that was the oddest reaction.”

“You saw the roses, right?”

“Yes! They’re right there, in the the side garden, big as day! In this garden. Not in the Park.”

“What’s up with that?”

“That was so strange . . . . “

“Listen, when we’re done here, we’re going around to that side of the house to see what’s there, okay?”

“Definitely! Even though I already know those roses are in this garden.”

Hhhhhhmmmm . . .  so, of course, when we were leaving, Victoria and I hotfooted it over to the side of the House. And this is what we saw . . . .

And this . . . . .
as well as this . . . . .
What’s up with that?
Does the landlord forbid his tenants from growing roses on the property? Would the Duke of Wellington be breaking the lease and chancing eviction by growing roses?

Was one of the Dukes of Wellington once convicted of grievious rose abuse and thus all future Dukes of Wellington were subsequently prohibited from ever owning a rose again, on pain of incarceration?

Are they really contraband/prohibited/stolen/poisonous roses that are illegal to possess in one’s garden?
Surely it couldn’t be that this docent had never been to the west side of Apsley House and so was simply mistaken about the topography there?
Why were the docents’ denials so adamant, as if I’d accused the Duke of keeping a bevvy of under-aged harem girls out there in his garden instead of pink roses?
  
Honestly, what’s up with that?

The Squares of Bloomsbury

Yesterday on this blog, I (Victoria) reported on my visit to Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, reportedly the only complete Georgian square left in London.  There are many squares in Bloomsbury but most of them are now surrounded by hotels, university buildings and other modern structures, and they are open to the public. Even so, most of them were ready for visitors on Open Squares Weekend, 2010, June 12 and 13.
Russell Square is the largest of the Bloomsbury squares. It is a comfortable lunch spot for many area workers, has fine strolling paths for lingering tourists, and boasts a gelato shop also offering sandwiches coffee, etc.

The pigeons enjoy a bath in the Russell Square Fountain. I always wonder about the people who toss crusts to these urban creatures (to me, just flying rats) since it only encourages them to stay and invite their pals. Trafalgar Square now has a few neighborhood falcons that chase away the pigeons and signs disallowing feeding.

The venerable old Hotel Russell can be glimpsed through the trees.  We had a mini family reunion there a few years ago and celebrated Valentine’s Day in the excellent restaurant. That’s another plane tree in the foreground.


Flowers blooming in Bloomsbury’s Russell Square.
The statue at the edge of Russell Square is Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford (1765-1805) who was not only a prominent politician but the man most responsible for the development of this former Russell family farm into urban squares for residential use.  In a few days, I will blog on my visit to the Woburn Abbey, the country estate of the Russell/Bedford family — in Bedfordshire, where else?

Tavistock Square is another of the Bloomsbury public gardens, and it has evolved into a sort of memorial for peace and justice. There is also a bust of Virignia Woolf (1882-1941), the great 20th century writer.

With her husband and friends, Woolf was the center of the Bloomsbury Group, a renowned literary circle. She lived on Tavistock Square in a now demolished house.

In the center of Tavistock Square is a bronze sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1949), the father of Indian independence and inspiration for all non-violent protesters around the world. He studied law at London University and later was beaten and imprisoned by British authorities in India.
Near the Hiroshima Tree, planted in 1967 to memorialize the victims of the first atomic bomb dropped on the city in 1945, is the Peace Stone, at right.  In 1994, this stone was dedicated to “all those who have established and are maintaining the right to refuse to kill.” It is London’s only pacifist memorial.
                                                                     In a strange concurrence of place and event, the street ou
tside this corner of Tavistock Square was the scene of a terrorist bombing on 7/7/2005 in which a double decker bus was blown up, killing 13 innocent travelers.  Several bombs exploded that day on underground trains, killing many more people.
Along with several universities, Bloomsbury is the home of the great institution, The British Museum with its amazing collections. Out in front of the museum in the summer of 2010, TBM planted a South African garden with assistance from the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew. It fit in well with the obsession Europe has this summer with the World Cup being played in South Africa.
Gordon Square is a twin of Tavistock Square, just a block away. It is open to the public and has lovely rose gardens. I particularly liked the color of this large grouping.
Another of the open gardens near Bloomsbury was the charming little retreat at the Academy Hotel on Gower Street.  We visitors to the garden were welcomed despite the many hotel residents enjoying their elevenses in delightful surroundings.
From here I left for George St. in Marylebone where Kristine, Brooke and I met up and went to lunch in the Marylebone High Street, at the Prince Regent pub, of course. Here are Kristine and Brooke, just off the plane, getting ready for a pint!

I was too ready for a drink to re-take ths rather blurry shot of the pub sign, in Prinny pink! All that garden-walking made me quite thirsty.

Also in our Marylebone neighborhood is Durants Hotel which traces its origin back to the 18th century. However, there was also a Durant’s Hotel in St. James’ Jermyn Street, which may have been the more famous of the locations in the Regency and early Victorian periods.  Nevertheless, we’d love to stay here in its old English Men’s Club-designed setting.

Also in “our” neighborhood on Baker Street, we found this blue plaque saying that John Lennon once lived here.  Marylebone is quite a lively place, pronounced locally as MAR-le-bun, spoken quickly.  We enjoyed the many restaurants, pubs and shops near the apartment we rented. And it was very convenient to have a Tesco supermarket next door!

The Wallace Collection in Manchester Square was also in our neighborhood.  I will blog about it soon.  For now, cheerio.

Are You Stumped At This Victorian Term?

Victoria here…to tell you more about some of the wonderful sights Kristine and I saw on our recent visit to London.  I had arrived a couple of days before Kristine and Brooke came, so I had the opportunity to do research at several libraries (see my recent posts). On Saturday morning, June 12, while I waited for the new arrivals, I took in several of the Bloomsbury gardens that participated in the London Open Squares Weekend. 

I was particuarly intrested in gardens usually closed to the public and used only by the residents of the squares who have keys.  You know the deal — they more restricted the use, the more I wanted to see it!

Bedford Square was one of those usually closed; I headed there first.

Much of the square is devoted to a lawn with graceful old trees.  But as I followed two British ladies to show our tickets, one of them asked the official, “What is a Victorian stumpery?” For indeed the booklet that accompanied the weekend had extolled the excellence of Bedford Square’s Victorian Stumpery. And I was stumped. So I asked if I could come along with them to find the head gardener.

The three of us set off, laughing together at our mutual inability to understand the term though all of us had gardened for many years, as well as having visited scads of gardens, many world famous.

Here is the description: “Built between 1775 and 1786, Bedford Square is the best and most complete Georgian square in London. The elegant surrounding buildings, now mainly offices, were once fashionable town houses and have distinctive Coade-stone entrances.



The large oval garden at the centre is surrounded by iron railings and screened by encircling shrubberies and large plane trees. The garden has benefited recently from a programme of works with new benches and metal edging installed alongside the newly re-surfaced path that circumnavigates the whole garden. Newly planted areas of interest include a Victorian stumpery and pocket planting of a large variety of herbaceous plants. “

At last we reached the area and the  gardener explained: when huge old trees were cut down, the stump was dug out, turned upside down and used as a planter. The three of us ladies looked at each other and burst into laughter. We were all thinking the same thing: who would do this incredibly difficult task?  Certainly none of our husbands!  This was a job that would definitely require a staff!!  So probably not seen much these days.

But the effect is charming and the idea sound if you are either very strong or have lots of help. Because of all the shade, most of the plants were feathery ferns and other greenery.  The plantings are lovely and replicate a deep old forest. One almost expects either some elves to appear — or Robin Hood himself.
Almost all the planting in Bedford Square has to be shade-friendly.  And much of it will remain green in the winter, showing lovely red berries — which also brings birds.  One of the delights of the London Squares, whether closed or open to the public is the sound of birds which seems to make the constant traffic sounds retreat far away.
 Another interesting aspect of Bedford Square  is the beauty of surrounding houses, just about as they were constructed in the late 18th century, though most are offices today, not homes, as is true of so many formerly perfect residential areas of central London.  Boo hoo.
Here is one of the four houses in the center of each row. As you can see from the arched entryways, it was once two houses, with particularly lovely windows overlooking the square.
 The mutual effect of the houses looking inward at the greenery and the effect of looking out of the square at the beautiful symmetry of the houses is marvelous. A triumph of urban architecture and gracious living.
 The entrances of the darker brick houses are surrounded by white and crowned by a head in Coade-stone?  Don’t know what that is?  We’ll tell you about it one of these days.
Many of the houses around Bedford Square boast blue plaques indicating that a person of historical significance one lived here.  Actually, almost all of them shoud be included in the list.  Prime Ministers, scientists and artists all called the square home at one time.
I think I could bear living here. How about you? After all, I have to keep an eye on that Victorian Stumpery.

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

Finally, Emma Thompson reprises her role as Nanny McPhee (yipppeee!) and is joined by Ralph Fiennes, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maggie Smith, and Rhys Ifans. I believe that the US version is to be called Nanny McPhee Returns. In the sequel, Nanny McPhee arrives to help a harried young mother who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war and uses her magic to teach the woman’s children and their two spoiled cousins five new lessons.

On a farm in Britain during World War II, Mrs. Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is driven to her wits end by her hectic life. Between trying to keep the family farm up and her job in the village shop, aided by the elderly and slightly mad Mrs. Doherty (Maggie Smith), she also has three boisterous children to look after, Norman (Asa Butterfield), Megsie (Lil Woods) and Vincent (Oscar Steer). All of this she has to do while her husband is away at war. So when her children’s two spoiled cousins, Cyril (Eros Vlahos) and Celia (Rosie Taylor-Ritson) are sent to live on their farm and another war is being fought between the two sets of children, she is in need of a little magic.

At first, it takes a big bang of Nanny McPhee’s stick to make the children realise that they cannot go on fighting and they eventually learn to tolerate each other. Meanwhile, Mrs. Green’s brother in law, Uncle Phil (Rhys Ifans), has gambled away the farm and is being chased down by two hit women. He desperately attempts to make Mrs. Green sell her half of the farm, using many mean and spiteful schemes.  One day, Mrs Green takes all the children on a picnic, at the end of which Uncle Phil delivers a telegram saying that Mr. Green has been ‘killed in action’ in the war. Mrs Green believes the telegram, along with everybody else. But Norman says that he can “feel it in his bones” that his father is not dead. Soon, the children, with Nanny at their head, are off to the war office in London to get to the bottom of things.

I won’t tell you any more – that should be enough to whet your appetitie if you’re a Nanny McPhee fan, as am I. The film has already been released in Britain and is scheduled for release here on August 20th. In the meantime, you can visit the film’s official site here. The Telegraph sums up their review of the film by saying “This is a shrewd, heartfelt piece of work.”

Sunday in the Park – Part Two

Victoria here, continuing with a report on our Sunday, June 13, as we tried to get to as many open square gardens as we could.  We made a small detour on our trek from Markham Square to the next garden on our agenda in Belgravia. While we were walking up King’s Road in Chelsea, we came across a Jo Malone shop. Kristine is a devotee of their products and I had my introduction, so we had a brief shopping opportunity sandwiched among our gardens. I was amused by their shades with similar arrangements to their windows.

Properly lotioned and perfumed, we walked on to Eaton Square, that fabled location of Upstairs, Downstairs, exteriors filmed at 65 Eaton Place, appearing as 165 Eaton Place (which does not exist). The houses of Belgravia are beautiful, and almost entirely of this same or similar design of white stucco with balconies outside the principle floor.  The neighborhood was developed on property owned by the Grosvenor family (Dukes of Westminster) in the 1820’s. It remains a posh district, though most of the houses are either embassies, offices and/or apartments.  I could settle for one of the apartments, I think.

Here is the description from the Open Squares Weekend booklet: “Eaton Square is one of London’s premier addresses. Together with Belgrave Square, layout was started in 1826 by Thomas Cubitt (1788–1855) for the Grosvenor Estate. The gardens were named after Eaton Hall in Cheshire, home of the landowners, the Dukes of Westminster.”

One of the six separate squares was welcoming guests and we found it charming and beautifully appointed.

Planters, pools, lawns, many trees and flower borders all add to the comfortable effect.

I love contrasts, such as these plants show. Of course I don’t know their names, but the yellow-green against the orange and dark green is perfect.

Here a bower of clematis vines shade a bench. Perfect for an afternoon settling in with a good book. I would include a couple of pillows in my kit.
Would it be an English garden without roses?  I particularly like these blush-tone beauties — again a perfect contrast to the dark greenery.
They had a Punch and Judy show for the special weekend visitors.
These children were more interested in photographing flowers and insects, though the butterflies seemed preoccupied.
The tree above is usually called a Plane Tree. You find these all over London (and many other European cities) because they seem to thrive on the polluted air in urban areas. In fact, one gardener told me that they had done even better when the air was filled with coal dust in the early 20th C. Plane trees are closely related to the North American Sycamore, aka Buttonwood.
Above, more views of Eaton Square.
Our next stop was Cadogan Place Gardens, again named after a prominent family in 18th C. London. 
Here is the description: At the end of the 18th century this garden was originally known as the London Botanic Garden.
The severe storm in 1987 resulted in the loss of many large trees, which have now been replaced with a variety of ornamental trees, opening up the garden. The 300-year-old mulberry trees on the south lawn are thought to have been grown for the silk trade; an interesting mixed border is planted opposite the mulberries. On the east side, a walk running the length of the garden is being developed for spring interest, along with a fern garden.
Near the tennis courts, a water garden is partially hidden by black bamboo and willows, while the centre south garden displays the Hans Sloane Garden, created for the 2005 Chelsea Flower Show. William Wilberforce (1759-1833), campaigner for the abolition of slavery lived at 44 Cadogan Place.
A few flowers in Cadogan Gardens, above and right.  The Cadogan name is pronounced, according to the official taking our tickets: Kuh-DUG-un. 
Our next stop, and let me tell you, we were dragging by this time, was Belgrave Square, also part of the Grosvenor estate development of the 1820’s. Here is the description:  A 4.5-acre private garden designed by George Basevi, first planted by Thomas Cubitt in 1826 and now restored to its 1867 layout. The latest element in this work has been the re-instatement in 2008 of the original viewing mound in the centre of the garden.
There are many trees, including large plane trees dating from the original plantings, and pergolas covered with wisteria and roses. The square also features a quiet garden, a play area for children and a tennis court.

  

The statuary around the garden reflects the international nature of the square and offers a rare chance to see a collection of modern figurative work. A 1998 statue of Sir Robert Grosvenor by Jonathan Wylder at the corner of Wilton Crescent features the quote from John Ruskin: ‘When we build, let us think we build for ever’.

The Belgrave Square garden committee seeks to balance the maintenance of the garden’s historic character with the needs and expectations of modern users and the preservation of the square for the future. The result is a garden which offers peace and tranquillity in a busy city and also provides a fun play space for local children.
By this time, I was yearning for a bench to rest my weary — well, which were in worse shape? My aching feet? My tired legs? Or my poor back?  And it was almost five o’clock when the gardens would be locked up again.  So we staggered into Wilton Crescent and flopped down on the nearest bench.
Wilton Crescent is surrounded by more of tho
se stately white stucco houses.  If you look closely at the photo, you will see one of the metal sculptures of a tree that decorate the garden.
Here is the description: Wilton Crescent was an addition by Thomas Cundy, the Grosvenor Estate surveyor, to the original 1821 Wyatt plan for Belgravia. The garden was highly commended in the 2009 London Gardens Society Competition.
 Right is another of the sculptured trees which make a dramatic contrast to the green shrubbery and must be quite pretty in winter too.  We liked the neighborhood.  And it was just a very short walk to our next adventure.
Here is the doorway of one of the houses we picked out as our possible pied-a-terre in London. But on second thought, that topiary on the left is a little crooked. Guess I’ll have to keep looking.  But I’ll stay in this neighborhood so my local pub will be….
The Grenadier!  Yes, our long and winding road through London gardens brought us through this little mews to the pub and the comfort of a nice chair and a cool brew. We were a bit early for our meeting with Carrie Bebris and her dad Jerry, so we sat around and talked to other patrons. Kristine got a chance to practice her French accents with a pair of travelers from Switzerland.
The sentry box seems to be only a storage shed, decorative as it is. It was too light to look for the ghosts. As if we had the energy left to find them!  They never did make an appearance that evening, probably realizing we would only ask them for foot massages and back rubs.
Carrie and Vicky shared a hug in one of the two tiny dining rooms.  Carrie and her dad Jerry were finishing up her research trip to Lyme Regis, Bath and environs with a couple of days in London.  Carrie, author of the Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mystery series,  is working on her next novel in which the Darcys will meet up with Captain and Mrs. Wentworth, of Persuasion fame.
 
Above, Carrie Bebris and her dad Jerry Morris
We were lucky to s
ecure a table since The Grenadier was packed. Not that it takes very many people to fill its two tiny dining rooms and taproom. We all four enjoyed the Sunday Roast dinner — beef with potatoes, bed and Yorkshire pudding. Yum!
Since the Grenadier is located quite close to the barracks where some of the Duke of Wellington’s troops were housed, it used to be filled with redcoats…but nary a one was there Sunday night.  Above is the mounting block used by the Duke of Wellington after his visits to The Grenadier.
After dinner, we searched for the ghosts, but they eluded us.
 There were lots of pretty flowers. But no ghosts.
We said good-by at the tube stop at Hyde Park Corner. Yes, that is Apsley House in the distance at the far right.  Carrie and Jerry had tickets for a play at the Globe theatre the next night.  Kristine and I had a day of shopping planned. 
And lots more walking!