Today West Dean Gardens had an Arts & Crafts Festival and additionally the house was open to the public for viewing.
I headed off and arrived just before the gates opened... ticket in advance and through I went.
Meeters & Greeters were this Mallard family... 10 little ones plus Mum!!
Went for a wander..
This piece of Artwork is made from bin liners!!
The wisteria looking good
I wandered through some of the Festival marquees before heading into the House.
The Estate was formerly he home of the poet and patron of the arts, Edward James. He was an avid admirer of the Surrealist movement and formed on the the largest collections of their works during his lifetime. He inherited West Dean House and the estate after the death of this father, William Doge James.
In 1964, James conveyed the estate including the house, to the Edward James Foundation. In 1971 the foundation established West Dean College as a centre for the study of conservation, arts, crafts, writing, gardening and music... providing both full-time and short courses.
A young man was playing the piano..
A very much larger version of this used to be out in the gardens... a new sculpture has now taken its place
Underneath the covers, was content arranged to look like a body lying in bed.. not sure about that :)
Out into the sunshine and a wander round the rest of the gardens
The new "replacement" sculpture..
A Swan?
I stopped in the cafe for lunch. They operate on these systems where, when ordering your meal, you have to quote your table number. As a single diner... this is not possible. I said I didn't have a table, so a member of staff was asked to escort me to a table so she could report back to the cashier, my table number!! Whilst this resolved the situation, wouldn't it be so much simpler just to give you a number ? you can then choose where to sit and your number goes with you??
Seen in the shop..
and I stopped briefly at Benbow Ponds on the way home.
Greylags with young
A pleasant day out.
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1 comment:
Lovely mallard family, a few have appeared on the blue lake, but it is only a couple that usually make it.
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