Shutterstock

       My latest images for sale at    Shutterstock:

             
 
  
       My most popular images for sale at    Shutterstock:

            

Merry Christmas

George

Mad men

Winchester School of Art Degree show 1994

Baby playmat - I've finished it!

Art college desk! 1994 Winchester School of Art.

Old Art College pics!

Thomas & William Lobb.

GARDEN experts have made an urgent appeal to Cornwall Council planners to delay decisions on a property which may have international importance for garden heritage.

BBC Four's Gardeners' Question Time panellist Matthew Biggs has added his voice to objections against plans to demolish Spring Vale on Bissoe Lane in Devoran, near Truro, which he believes could be the former home of the great Cornish plant hunters William and Thomas Lobb.

Mr Biggs said: "The potential significance of this house and garden cannot be underestimated and I urge the council to delay decisions until further research can be carried out.

"This property is potentially of high heritage value and not just part of Cornwall's garden history, but nationally and internationally important."

Penryn-based CAD Architects have made the planning application on behalf of the trustees of the property's late owner, Leonora Yonge.

The property overlooks the new Carnon Gate roundabout, and its overgrown garden contains many substantial trees, including Monterey and Lawson cypresses, as well as red cedars.

Tree consultants say the site cannot be developed without their removal.

Plant-hunting

Mr Biggs believes the trees may have been planted by the Lobb brothers from seeds brought back from their historic, worldwide plant-hunting travels in the 1800s.

Mr Biggs said: "This is exciting. We know so little about the Lobbs and this could be the key to finding out more. If it can be proved that the brothers lived here and planted the garden, the opportunities are immense.

"The property could, for example, be a wonderful centre for Cornish garden history."

Bodmin-based writer Leo Hickman has also urged the council to delay its decision.

He said: "We need to gather as much information as possible and date the trees that are in the garden – the Monterey cypresses may be among the first grown in the UK.

"We know the brothers were born in Perranarworthal and worked for the Veitch nurseries in Exeter, and that Thomas, at least, later returned to live in Devoran, where he is buried.

There is a strong possibility that this was their home.

"The brothers introduced at least 600 plant species to Britain – go to any garden centre in the country and buy a plant today and it's likely that the original seeds were brought back by the Lobbs. They are among the most famous Cornishmen in history."

The target date for determining the planning application was Monday, but planning officers say no decision has yet been made.

Do you have any knowledge of Spring Vale's history? If so, call the West Briton on 01872 247410 or e-mail pspackman@c-dm.co.uk or leave a message on the website www.thisiscornwall.co.uk

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/homepagenews/home-Lobb-brothers/article-1716871-detail/article.html

23 weeks pregnant :-)

Foggy morning in Shirenewton

Mr Poo we love you

The very handsome Mr Poo.

Lettuce day!

Goodwood festival of speed 2009. The Red Arrows.

Climb-it change

Mr & Mrs Siddall

Happy Birthday Tom!

Snowtastic

Tom & I are engaged!

Card designed & made by Jo English.

Chepstow

La Grande Maison, Seglien, Brittany.

http://www.frenchholidayhomes.com/show.asp?p=1533

La Grande Maison is a fabulous gite in a tiny village called Seglien in Brittany. I've just spent a glorious week there & would highly recommend it!

Gosh it's muggy in here. A poem by Tom Siddall.

My eyes are closing, my brain is numb
I'm in the office sitting on my bum
Trying to do work, but brain doesn’t play
Can I have a day off today?

Last week's mini break in London.

Elvis

"Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do em all together, I guess."



-Elvis in 1956,

talking about his way of moving on stage.

The 20 people who decide how you live.

The Guardian Weekend cover story;

The puppeteers


They shape your record collection, influence your clothes, make sure your kettle boils - even get your children to pester you. Meet the invisible men and women who pull the strings in your life

Saturday June 21, 2008
The Guardian

She picked out your underwear this morning ...
Soozie Jenkinson, head of lingerie at Marks & Spencer
With 20 million bras and 50 million knickers sold every year, Jenkinson probably has something in your knicker drawer. As a strategist for M&S's lingerie design, she decides what British women are wearing to hold it in and push it up.
"We look to the catwalks, at what celebrities are wearing, magazine influences, the red carpet," she says. Currently working on ranges for summer 2009, she also keeps an eye open for fashion moments that could translate into sales within weeks. "What Amy Winehouse is wearing today - the red bra or the 50s style - is something our customers might want quickly from us - some ranges can be in store within three months."
As the infamous Jeremy Paxman letter showed, people care about M&S underwear. "Lingerie is pretty much my life 24/7," Jenkinson says. "In the back of a cab, at dinner parties, people share their intimate views on lingerie and what they'd like us to provide for them."
Fulfilment, she says, comes from knowing she has affected individual lives - letters of thanks after the launch of post-surgery bras, for example. And she feels her influence, too - when she told journalists that the bra range would extend to a J-cup, they'd sold out on the web within three days.
Ros Anderson

My lovely shed :-)

Old photos

The Rimmers!

Happy Valentine's day!