Mum firmly back in the drivers seat today at 101 years old!
@tattonpark , one of our favourite gardens for such a beautiful warm Spring day.
She didn't think she could manage it again but she did and although it was a big effort, she loved being outside for the first time this year...and being back behind the wheel!
The staff at the garden entrance were incredibly helpful and kind and welcoming to us....not sure of the gentleman's name who was on duty today but many thanks for your humour and warmth.
If you haven't visited @tattonpark it's really worth visiting....RHS partner garden, and NT property.
The garden is immaculately presented with heritage fruit varieties in the orchard garden and walled kitchen garden...at this time of year the huge rhododendrons and massed azaleas obviously take centre stage in dazzling shades of red, pink, orange, purple and yellow with white as a foil...spectacular!
Mid week hardly any visitors so its a tranquil place to enjoy the warmth and sunshine surrounded by beautiful planting and majestic trees.
#tattonpark #daysoutformums #springsunshine #cheshiregardens
#rhs
@therefugemcr for a mini school reunion recently. Totally transfixed by the majesty of this ornate Victorian building with examples of the highest standards of craftsmanship and materials....it must have been a showpiece of the wealth and power accrued in Manchester in the 19th and early 20th centuries on the backs of the cotton workers slaving for pennies in the vast cotton mills of Manchester and in the surrounding Lancashire towns.
The first few photos show this staggering building interior, now a truly amazing bar and restaurant. What could have produced such wealth enough to build this imposing and magnificent building?
Insurance! Specifically, insurance on finished cotton goods for export to the Empire countries, and spun cotton yarn for sale domestically and abroad.
Sending cheap printed cotton fabric woven in Manchester to countries like India and countries in Africa, carried a great risk, so insurance was at the heart of the cotton trade.
Surrounding the Refuge Assurance building are a host of magnificent six storey distribution warehouses, where buyers would come to look at samples and make arrangements for shipping.
Including India house!
Here's a wonderful painting in Manchester City Art Gallery of the kings of Cottonopolis as Manchester was known in those days. .It shows the Royal Exchange in Manchester where manufacturers, merchants, bankers, and insurers from across the globe gathered to fix prices, arrange shipping, and control over 80% of the world's trade in finished cotton. Up to 11,000 cotton barons and traders met here twice a week to decide on the fate of the cotton trade globally!
Needless to say, this cotton was shipped tarrif free to India especially, to flood their markets, while the British strangled India's own once thriving cotton trade by imposing massive export tarrifs on their cottons that made their trade impossible.
#manchesterhistory #cottontraders #britishempire #lootingindia #textiletravels
@rhsbridgewater yesterday.
Fabulous at any time of year....as it matures it's a joy to see the beds filling out and trees and shrubs filling their spaces..
Very excited to see this development of the Chinese garden...
The Cercis are amazing, like dazzling pink fireworks!
#rhsbridgewater #englishgardens #birthdaytreat
I wasn't expecting my Mum to remember much about the night I was born, and she didn't....apart from this gem! At 101 she's got thousands of memories that are far more pleasant I'm sure!
She is amazing!
#mothersanddaughters #anotherbirthday #radcliffe
#101yearsold #privileged
As the wild Easter winds whistle round my little house in Bristol, I'm already imagining myself back in my beloved South India with our next fabulous group of textile and culture explorers!
Looking back at our superb trip with this year's wonderful group of adventurers made me realise just how much we feed our senses and indulge in our passion for textiles of all kinds on our three week journey of discovery and sheer pleasure...
Like children in a sweet shop, every new doorway opens into a treasure house of glowing textile colours to choose from! Apart from a myriad of shopping opportunities, we meet silk and cotton weavers, enjoy a two day natural dyeing workshop in the tea gardens of Munnar and a full day of block printing in Bangalore..
Culture also gets a good look in, with a Kathakali performance a Bharatanatyam classical dance evening and experiencing a unique to North Kerala villages, Theyyam ritual...plus temple and museum visits...
I never tire of leading our classic three week South Indian textile and culture tour. Every lovely group creates their own impression and brings their own perspective to the sustainable, traditional and heritage textile techniques, garments and fabrics that lie at the heart of our journeys. Your holiday also helps to support the artisans we connect with on our tour..
South Indian Threads tour is never the same twice! In the ever changing kaleidoscope of dazzling colour and organised chaos that makes life in India so endlessly fascinating and visually rich, nothing is ever ever boring, there's a photo round every corner...if you can catch it in time!
To join us on our big South Indian adventure in January 2027, find full details in our Linktree in Biog above or DM me for more details or to arrange a Whatsapp chat.
South Indian Threads Tour
January 23rd to February 13th 2027
#textiletours #indiatravel #indiatextiletours #southindiatravel
#sustainabletextiles
Thankyou to my dear friends in Kannur for a wonderful overnight treat to finish off another soul inspiring sojourn in my second home of Kerala....truly God's Own Country!
On the way to Wayanad we indulged in this exceptionally delicious passionfruit juice ..extraordinary and intense! Grown on the tree right next to the stall...it's travelled precisely 3 ft to be prepared! Couldn't tell you where it was though - just before Periya Town I think, on the road to Mananthavady from Iritty...on the right hand side.
Sleeping in the tree tops @wayanadwildlife on the edge of the jungle forest with wildlife and birdlife all around was an amazing experience. In the morning, deer and monkeys visited..the monkeys on the veranah will take anything remotely eatable so watch out if you visit!
Malabar giant squirrels with big eyes and bushy tails and monkeys both showing off their leaping skills in the upper branches of the surrounding trees...
A great place to contemplate nature in the majesty of the natural tropical forest with the magical sounds of an orchestra of birdsong...and the rustling of a million leaves...such a great way to finish this season of tours and weaving...Can't wait to return!
Thank you @wayanadwildlife for wonderful hospitality!
#wayanadtrip #kerala
#indiatours #wildlifekerala #
#textiletoursindia
It sounds like a wonderful fusion of cultures! Saying goodbye to a group that has truly immersed themselves in the soul of Kerala #keralatourism #artformsofkerala#beach dance#travelkerala
Scenes from the beach....between putting the final touches to our November 2025 Karnataka Textiles and Heritage tour...Can't wait to meet our lovely textile explorers next week in Bangalore and to get back on the road again! New tour, new worlds!
Meanwhile, I am the luckiest soul alive to be able to work from this idyllic place and call it my second home.
Never a dull moment!
#textiletoursindia. #textiletravels #beachsunset #beachdays #keralafood #keralatours #kannurdiaries #cherarocksbeachresort #indiatravel
Team TrueTone Ink had the pleasure of collaborating with @daisylizard for a training session on natural yarn dyeing techniques, in partnership with @postcarbonlab
It’s always inspiring to exchange ideas with creative minds leading the way in sustainable innovation from Planet B
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#TrueToneInk #SustainableTextiles #NaturalyarnDyeing #TextileInnovation #Collaboration #SustainableFashion #BioDesign #TextileResearch
Come in Number 9! Mum winning with the mobility scooter @rhsbridgewater today for her 101st Birthday visit...! No effort at all!
Thanks to Paul, one of my oldest friends and first India travelling companion, for joining us today and adding that je ne sais quoi of Bolton humour to the proceedings!
How lovely were all the friendly staff who looked after Mum today and wished her Happy Birthday and the unexpected garden centre gift voucher! Huge thanks for arranging the scooter and such short notice!
After a much appreciated turn around the stunning gardens, we retired to the cafe for hot chocolate and then to the indoor plants display where she plumped for an exotic pink leaved tropical beauty - an Aglaonema, and a dazzling pink cyclamen to brighten up the winter days!
Thank you @rhsbridgewater for another joyful afternoon among your delicious plantings and outstanding displays!
#rhs #101birthdaycelebration #speedqueen #indomitablespirit #gardenofthegods #gardenlove #granddayout
Reminiscing about steam trains and my early childhood in my home town of Radcliffe, sandwiched between Bury and Bolton.
At one time connected by this railway line that ran through Radcliffe taking us either to Bolton to connect with the steam train to Blackpool, to Grandma's house, or to Bury, to shop in the the famous market!
Our milkman, Mr Speakman, had his farm just over the bridge and his cows grazed the fields that are still there. The milk he delivered to us every morning on his little electric milk float
was produced by his cows in these fields. You can't get much more local than that!
Now it's a country corridor for nature and people in a very built up area. Shame about losing the steam trains though!
#childhoodmemories❤ #radcliffe #steamtrains #countrywalks
