Grass

Last night we where told that Chelsea has no lawns this year. All football jokes aside (because I don't know any) it's an interesting idea.

A friend of mine, visiting from the Netherlands, remarked that the British and a tendency to find an empty bit of land, plonk a lawn in it and sit there. It's what we do. But really is that the best way?

My favourite lawn in a good example of their darker side. The grand sweeping lawn of Cockington is a pure English village postcard. Against all odds a cricket pitch lies in the centre, the lawn slopes down on all sides. Trees, both natives and relics of a botanically minded ancestor, surround it.

Our image of this lawn is something pure and natural. Anglophiles and bankers wishing to escape to the country may even be swooning. But before a cricket pitch sat on that lawn, before the lawn itself that little patch of land was in use. It was home.

On that site stood the Almshouses. Almshouses are provided for the needy so it was quite a useful plot of land. Certainly if you live there you would think that a lawn was a wast. Not so for the people living inside the Manor. There quest for rural, sweeping 'what England should look like' views lead them to demolish the houses and put in grass. The almshouses where moved elsewhere. Must have sucked.

Still, more than a few years after the fact, I enjoy the lawn for lounging and reading. Others play cricket, some erect gazebos and have picnics. Not all lawns are like that though. I can't imagine reading on the ornamental patch of grass outside the flat. It's just there as punctuation in an expanse of parked cars.

Even if the grass is given up to the people it isn't always accessible. For the last couple of years the grass in Piccadilly Gardens (my favourite green space in the centre of Manchester) has been covered in 6' fencing. Each patch of grass takes it in turns to be replaced after the scorching sun has killed it off. While neighbors are left untouched for you to lie on the effect isn't the same.

So Chelsea doing away with lawns. Is is a victory for the little people who had their housed destroyed? Not really. In the most part what was once grass is currently hard landscaping (ie not plants). They make interesting viewing but is this really the type of garden design we should be looking at?

I have no idea. Lawns certainly have their uses. Aside form sitting they do give water somewhere to go other than sitting on tarmac. At the same time they are labour intensive for what they are. And the path to have a green, daisy free lawn is one of environmental irresponsibility. But when you have nothing but a few beams of wood suspended in the sky grass is a dream. And a welcome sight.

Going tourist in Totnes

This weekend we got off our bottoms and did something (aside from working, volunteering and playing the sims that is) we went to Totnes. Let me just get this out of the way first, I want to live there. There are basically three types of shops in Totnes, ones with green in the title, ones with cake in the window and ones with shiny, shiny things.

We started our day by hopping off the bus. Well it started before then but that was mostly us arguing over weather or not we should take out coats. We found the nearest place to get a chocolate croissant and ate them Vire Island. From there we could covet the gorgeous waterfront properties, wish I had a canoe with me and spot a few birds.

Then onward and upwards for the shopping trip/exploration First up was a crystal shop. This one was distinguished amongst the others in Totness by having both lovely jewellery, pretty polished stones and fantastic specimens that made the geologist in me weep. I couldn’t leave without smokey quartz, blue goldstone and fluorite bracelets or this picture of their wonderful tumble polished gem display.

Up and up, coming next to a health food shop that was actually a supermarket. Jesus Christ they had Sheese. On our way back we bought some of the vegan supplies I’d only read about. With any luck we should be cooking with them soon.

Next we miraculously popped up a side street and found a gallery open day. There where some excellent sea scapes and a photography project by Christine Sweetman. Tralling trough some of the other galleries we found delights like embroidered pictures of sugar skulls (beautiful although very clearly Jenny Heart inspired) in massive matching frames and a woman who embroiders over water colours to create wonderful local scenes. All of the art was far too expensive for me though.

After that we rampart walked it up to the church yard and found this adorable window and drooled at the beautiful front of the guild hall (which will be open for tourists in two weeks!) Then it was time to attempt to follow signs for the castle, pay our two pound fifties and walk up.

Totnes castle is an example of an old Mote and Bailey castle (that is a man made hill with a wooden castle on top) where the old wooden structure was replaced with stone. You can now see some of the foundations, and an impressive circle of stone. Oh and wonderful, wonderful views.

We continued up for craft supplies, drooling over fabric, wool and bears and a new diablo string for Stephen. Although there are vegetarian cafes in Totnes the meues didn’t seem that appetising to Stephen so we went to The Green Café which had signs advertising it’s greeniosity attached to everything from the recycled tables to the lights. The service was slow and friendly and the food was cheap and lovely, I got the vegetarian breakfast, Stephen went with the baked potato with cheese (duh).

After brief stops for fudge and sheese we stepped onto the bus and returned to Torquay. It was raining.