Spring, mark 2.

Spring arrived properly this week.  Here is another volley of photos from the garden, taken yesterday afternoon.  Magnolia budding up:

The ornamental cherry gives a subtle hint of what's to come:

Here seen from the other side of the fish pond:

A rose waits for the right moment:

The Oriental garden, youthful light greens sneaking in:

And finally, showing how fast stone will darken after sheering off.  The top section sheered off in 2010.  The bottom chunk fell away in February.  Nature doing its bit - not much we can do about that...

Iford Recordings: a new venture

I am delighted to announce plans for the very first DVD recorded in association with Iford Arts, in the wonderfully romantic Cloisters at Iford.  This is a project born out of a long-standing desire to bring the atmosphere and intimacy of this extraordinary space to a wider audience, and to do so by working with artists who truly understand the acoustic, ambience and ethos of Iford, both as a community and as an idyllic valley.

Last year, Iford Arts invited Tim Kliphuis and his trio to perform a concert as part of Iford's ongoing series of Jazz promenade evenings.  It became very clear from the start that we had in our midst a rather special creator of inspirational music.

After the concert of gypsy-inspired, improvisatory genius, I approached Tim and asked him speculatively what he thought of the venue for recordings.  We fell to chatting as he loaded the car.  Four months later, he sent me an email, and the project was born.  Tim, it seems, had caught the Iford bug...

Visiting us as a quartet, this time, Tim will be bringing the world-renowned jazz pianist David Newton, who has himself recorded with some of the world's great jazz singers and players.  We'll be able to release more information on the line-up as time goes on (well, you wouldn't want to know it all at once, now, would you?).

The important information, however, is that you can pre-order the DVD at a special price, for delivery in November 2011.  Now, the special offer is 2 for £25 (normally £20 each!) - one for you, and one for a friend at Christmas.

The recording will take place in June, and we are planning a DVD packed full not only of the live concert in the cloisters, but including those little vignettes which make DVDs so intriguing - the bits you don't see when you go to the lovely polished concert.

Order your copies now, at this special price:  www.IfordRecordings.co.uk/kliphuis.html

The green shoots of recovery

Nope, not an article about the economy, sadly.  However following a second harsh winter in a row, it never ceases to amaze me how nature bounces back with her trademark optimism: spring flowers and green shoots.

Here are some photographs of the garden taken yesterday, in the soft evening light unique to the early spring.  Note the winter housing still covering much of the statuary.  They don't like the cold much.  And as for the bald patches in the borders (it's only March after all), I love seeing the signs of potential as the bedding plants unravel, reaching up to the sun, stretching for the warmth of the months to come.  Lovely.

A quick trip to Naples

Last week, our family took a rare trip away.  To the casual observer, it could have been seen as a holiday.  However, fact it was really a business research trip in disguise, for we were visiting the Naples region to examine the influences that the Roman remains would have had on Harold Peto's work and his design motivation - it is believed that he visited the area a number of times.

It was fascinating and not a little surprising to see quite so many similarities so easily, between the realisation of Peto's vision at Iford and the Roman design influences of 2000 years ago.  Over the coming days I'll be writing up our trip on the blog, to illustrate some of the most interesting features we noted.  However what was most clear was that we needed a lot longer, and this calls for another trip some day: what a pity!

For now, though, here's a photograph of Vesuvius towering above the forum at Pompeii, showing why February is such a great time to go to these places - there was almost nobody there!

Iford Manor Teas awaits new samples

Over in the tea packing department, I'm excitedly awaiting new samples of tea, rather like a child expecting the imminent arrival of Santa Claus - only in my case the 'presents' are delivered by a brown uniformed UPS chap, rather than a red uniformed Laplander.  But the inner child's the same!

These samples are coming from rural Taiwan for a rather upmarket Somerset hotel which has asked me to pop over and see if we can't upgrade the tea they serve.  I'm quite sure we can, so I'm looking forward to that, and just hoping the samples are here in time - you see, it's really all about connoisseurship: not accepting the mediocre, just because it's what happens to be the norm.  Peto knew that too, and you see it through his garden at Iford, so I try to bring this same element to my work with the tea company.

It's always an exciting time of year in the tea world as the first pickings come around in March usually.  More excitement on that front next month!  If you haven't taken a look at our fine teas, you could do worse than to pop over to www.ifordmanorteas.co.uk, and also www.ifordmanor.co.uk/tea_room.html.

Iford Arts looks forward to the season ahead

Judy, the Artistic Director at Iford Arts sent this report (a fortnight ago; I'm just slow!):

"At Iford Arts we fancy ourselves as 'West Coast' Wilts, with a laid back atmosphere and informal approach. Gearing up for this summer’s season we’re already busy with mailshots, auditions, and random propositions and requests from places like Shanghai – I kid you not – and Corfu. The new season’ s brochure is just launched and a mailshot of nearly 4000 stuffed and franked by a team of 11 volunteers who then enjoyed a celebratory lunch in the Green Room upstairs. It was a very jolly occasion much enjoyed by all and oiled by a few bottles of wine left over from last season.

Casting for our two shows, Hansel and Gretel and Rodelinda is going well with some exciting newcomers in significant roles. Ciara Hendrick and Aiofe O’ Sullivan are a dinky and disarming pair as Hansel and Gretel, both very spontaneous and unmannered, lovely at Iford! Our witch, whose eyes are unnervingly sparkly is one third of the Three Welsh Tenors, Alun Rhys-Jenkins. We can’t wait! Rodelinda has the beginnings of a starry line-up with James Laing and Owen Willetts, Doreen Curran, but as yet no Rodelinda…. I know that The Don in Don Giovanni will be the dishy James Cleverton and we’re waiting eagerly to see who else will be conducted in that Opera della Luna production by our latest young maestro – winner of the Leeds conducting competition - Geoffrey Paterson.

Judging by the phone response to the brochure (when we can hear the callers-I am sure our phone line runs through a puddle and is hideously fuzzy right now) we may have caused confusion by getting the renowned jazz diva, Tina May here to sing what is really non-jazz repertoire, ie Edith Piaf, on June 10th. She is a superb vocalist and chanteuse and I believe these poignant songs will be absolutely fabulous in the cloister, even if not strictly jazz repertoire.

But our biggest challenge is to bring off the extension to our programming as we expand our outreach work with Chroma to include a schools’ matinee show of Hansel and Gretel – we are trying for the Pavilion in Bath - but have to raise the cash! A huge challenge but worthwhile. The covers scheme is growing too with a narrated concert style Hansel and Gretel to be sung by the cover singers with the orchestra in the cloister, but we are still seeking a host for one of the cover concerts – the Handel one.

It's all cooking well!"

>> You can follow Iford Arts on Facebook, here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iford-Arts/168502343261

Britannia, the waves, and optimistic birdsong

Last night's rains are just now heading rapidly downstream, and the river is flowing jolly fast, not aided by the 30ft tree which fell into it three days ago and has now lodged fast under the bridge.  Britannia is certainly ruling the waves today!

Weatherwise it hasn't been a great start to the year at Iford, indeed recent days have required the judicious placement of buckets under parts of the roof where tiles have slipped over the winter months (surprisingly common as anyone living under a very old stone roof will attest!).

 This morning, by contrast, I was awoken by nature's own alarm clock: birdsong and sunlight.  It reminded me of just how wonderfully infectious is the optimism held by our native songbirds on a bright winter's morning, as they anticipate the arrival over the hill of the warming rays of the sun.

You can't help but think happy thoughts of summer and the year ahead when greeted by such cacophony of joy.

The cats didn't notice, of course, steadfastly remaining in the warmth of the kitchen, protesting at the poor breakfast service from the staff (us).  Below: the matriarch Lily (right) and her son,11 years old but still a mummy's boy, (left).