After lunch at Le Gavroche with Chef Albert Roux on Wednesday to celebrate the launch of the new luxury Edinburgh hotel, The Atholl, I didn't think the week could have any further surprises left to offer. However, an invitation to ‘Tiffany Across the Water' arrived, a party to celebrate the re-opening of the beautifully restored Italian Gardens in Kensington Gardens.
@countrylifemag at the opening of the Italian Gardens
The Tiffany & Co Foundation and The Royal Parks Foundation have worked alongside GHK Architects and CWO (Cathedral Works Organisation) to renovate the Italian Gardens as part of the 2 year, $1.25 million dollar project to restore the drinking fountains in London's Royal Parks. The result is, as Fernanda Kellogg, Chair of the board at the Tiffany & Co Foundation, described it is ‘truly romantic'.
As Hetty Chidwick and I sipped Prosecco, very appropriately, and nibbled on delicious canapés made by Last Supper and Giorgio Locatelli, we chatted to Fernanda about her love of Country Life and watched the sun's watery reflection sink into the fountains. We all decided it really would be the perfect place for a proposal. After all, the gardens were originally created by one of the most romantic of men in history-they were a gift from Prince Albert to his beloved Queen Victoria.
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'The sight of my semi-comatose teenage son draped like a rag doll over the back of a mule has left its scars': Pamela Goodman on the perils of high altitude hikingThe Himalayas are calling Pamela Goodman's name (again), but she knows not to underestimate altitude sickness.
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The arboretum that's been 30 years in the making by a dedicated, passionate family who are dreaming of what it could be in 3,000 years' timeKeen collectors sooner or later find their way to the outstanding trees and shrubs at Bluebell Arboretum in Derbyshire, writes Charles Quest-Ritson. It’s a wonderful sight at this time of year.
