In this issue of the magazine
Blooming Marvellous
Take inspiration from the Chelsea Flower Show – first held one hundred years ago – to build up a collection of garden ephemera. But, says Margaret Gaskin, you’ll have to be prepared to dig around for some of these treasures
The British are a nation of gardeners – and that’s never more evident than the week each year that is given over to the Chelsea Flower Show, which celebrates its centenary this month. Royals, celebs and horny-handed sons of toil mingle in the grounds of the Royal Hospital on (more or less) equal terms, attending not out of obligation or because it’s the “done thing” but usually out of a genuine passion for the idea of cultivating your own little bit of paradise.
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Britains in Bloom
The delightful and highly collectable pre-war gardening series by W. Britain
One of the most delightful of all celebrations of the British love of gardening is the various gardening toys made by the famous model soldier manufacturer W. Britain.
Britains began making their hollowcast lead soldiers in 1893 and those are what made their name famous worldwide, though they later branched out into toy farm and zoo animals.
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Are You a Salvage Hunter?
Back at Knebworth next month, the world’s biggest architectural salvage fair is bigger than ever – so get over to the Salvo Fair
Over the years you will probably have seen the Salvo Fair on TV even if you didn’t recognise it at the time (this year at Knebworth over the weekend of 29th and 30th June). This is where Restoration Man George Clarke of Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces bought a 1950s kitchen for an overhauled designer caravan.
“The Salvo Fair was a great experience,” says George, “Especially for an architect, like me, who is passionate about restoration. I found all sorts of weird and wonderful things, including classic pieces of great British furniture that I’m a huge fan of. It’s a great day out.”
The History Channel also came calling, when the Ribble Reclamation team came to plunder its goodies for Seeking Salvage. And celebrities can sometimes be spotted having a good rummage around on their own account: singer and actor Will Young is just one of the famous faces who have been spotted hunting for a bargain. So whether you’re a designer, trader or film star, it seems, the Salvo Fair is for you!
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Meet the Collector
The honest beauty of old woodworking tools captured the heart of Jonathan Green-Plumb and took him on a journey into the world of long- dead craftsmen
Woodworker and Design and Technology teacher Jonathan Green-Plumb thinks most museum curators are missing a trick when it comes to displaying the great masterpieces of the past. “We can all stand in awe in front of a finely made 18th-century Dutch walnut marquetry cabinet,” he says. “But in most cases there is little to place such items into context. How was it made, who made it, how long did it take to make and” – for this is his collector’s passion – “which tools were used?"
It’s a fascinating and complex field. “An ancient Roman carpenter’s hammer and a contemporary one are essentially the same in appearance and would perform on identical terms. But how the basic form is manipulated by an individual is the result of that individual’s situation within a particular epoch, culture, region or country.”
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