Tuesday 16 May 2017

Pour yourself a cuppa, put your feet up ...


... and I'll take you for a walk around the garden at the Odney Club in Cookham ...
 Sir Bernard Miller was the chairman of the John Lewis Partnership from 1955-1972 and his centre is at the entrance to gardens

... and here we see the first (Stanley by Lydia Karpinska) of many sculptures on display and for sale.

I shall let the pictures guide you round ...
































'If' we lived on the land, had a big garden and were rich we'd buy this one on the right above, I think it was over £4k!
It was an absolute delight spinning in the breeze!







 Ivy and Sydney rat by Jon Barrett-Danes £275 each
 Where's Mary Poppins?
 ... away from the sculptures we're still in sight of Cliveden House


 We used to have one of these Viburnum Snowball bushes in our garden, it smells heavenly on a warm sunny evening.



 Cookham Lock weir stream 



 I want to know what's in there!



It only cost us £2 each entrance fee but we'd have paid more than that just to walk the grounds without the sculptures.  I can't think of a better way to spend three hours on a warm spring day.

10 comments:

Sue said...

Fascinating Carol, wonderful, wonderful garden. I had no idea it was there!! Now I am looking forward to visiting

Vallypee said...

Oh Carol, this all too gorgeous! I wish I could see it for real, but your photos are just magical! Thank you for posting them! And would you thank your wonderful OH for the very kind review! I was thrilled to see it and read it. That is so kind!

Geoff and Mags said...

Wow, great photos! There's a lot of work gone into those sculptures, but some of the prices - ouch! I do like the glass bluebells...

Mike Todd said...

Amazing sculptures - hope we can remember to visit when (if) we pass that way again.

Carol said...

A note for your 2018 diary Sue although I don't know if the sculpture sale is on every year.

Carol said...

It was gorgeous Val, we were very lucky to be moored at Cookham just at the right time for the festival. It was me that read Harbour Ways Val not OH (our Amazon account is in his name) although I was often reading passages out loud to him across the room. It was a brilliant read, your descriptions are spot on and take your reader along on all your experiences. I've just started Faring in France and am enjoying that too. I remember a long time ago 1976 I think, we were on a hire narrowboat in Gloucester dock - our first experience of narrow boating and we hadn't a clue - it was before health and safety was invented. anyway we were in the dock with a huge (to us anyway) boat squashing us up against the wall but probably nothing like the locks you were experiencing. Happy faring Val. x

Carol said...

It was a really good afternoon Geoff. Several people have mentioned to me that they like the bluebells best. We're following your travels, as always you're doing far more miles that we are these days, it must be the wide expanse of the Thames slowing us down. We still miss travelling with you both. Love to Mags. xx

Carol said...

A date for your 2018 calendar Mike - well worth it especially if they put the sculpture sale on every year.

Vallypee said...

Thank you, Carol!! I don't know if you will see this, but I am really grateful and am so glad to know you have enjoyed my stories! Big hugs!

Carol said...

You're very welcome Val, I'm now waiting for a new book from you! No pressure!!