Thursday 21 May 2015

RHS Malvern Spring Festival and The Three Counties Show



The RHS Malvern Spring Festival was a couple of weeks ago and I seriously considered extending my stay in the UK to visit. The last time we went was in 2010, prior to moving abroad, in fact we would go to the Summer and Autumn shows also. As we lived in Malvern, we'd have family to visit for the weekend so we could all attend the show together.

Joining in with Time Traveller and How Does Your Garden Grow, I've been trawling through old photo's to revisit some family days out, holidays and events.

Our youngest son was a student at The Downs, Malvern College Prep, where you can find The Downs Light Railway, the world's oldest private miniature railway. It is one of only two railways in the United Kingdom to be operated and maintained by children.

The school were fortunate (some serious fundraising required) to showcase their gardening skills and the DLR at the 2008 RHS Malvern Spring Festival.

They won a Gold medal for their show garden










The Summer show is the called The Three Counties and it always falls on Father's Day weekend which is also the same time as my Mother's birthday. It was always hit and miss with the weather, but with so many marquees, food halls and animal sheds there is always somewhere to shelter and typically there is plenty of wet weather gear on sale if you happen to forget to bring your own.

We usually took a picnic and chairs and set a time when we'd all meet back at the car, but would ask for the back of our hands to be stamped on returning to the car park so we could save the hassle of carrying tables, chairs and cool boxes with us.

Here we all are celebrating my mums 60th birthday in 2004. 




 It's a typically British thing to do, picnic by the car but with views like this, who cares?



With plenty of shopping, animals, displays and entertainment, there's enough to keep everyone busy and happy for the day.








So having linked up with Time Traveller and HDYGG? I thought I should update you on the current travel arrangements and add some photo's to HDYGG and how we've resolved a few issues with our 'Creating a garden in the desert'

The recycled water containers have been a disaster, they retain the water which reaches almost boiling point during the day and when I cut some drainage holes, the soil dried up, the bottles stink and are too heavy to move and the tomato plants have been in direct sunlight for 6+ hours a day and are struggling. So I made some new newspaper pots and planted some new seeds, just in case the plants don't survive now that we've rehoused the tomatoes under some shade netting at the back of the house.

The pump to the right of the orange boxes is for the bore hole, although hubby managed to get the pump working, sadly the bore hole was empty.


Hubby is off to Turkey in 2 days, back Wednesday then off to the States on Saturday, returning 2 weeks later and only 5 days before I fly to Canada for 3 weeks. His trip is business and he flys business class, mine is holiday and I fly economy.

We are now down from 4 to 1 working suitcase and I'm an advanced packer, hubby is also a lazy unpacker as in rather than unpack and put clothes away on his return he lives out his suitcase until it is empty. I'm starting to stress about not being able to pack my case in my time scale so may have to purchase another one before I travel. Seeing as he's flying business, I'm hiding the eye mask and travel pillow from him as he has a habit of leaving them behind on the plane and I'm really going to need them for my 13 hour flight from Dubai to Toronto.


Plus I'm also having an unexpected and surprise visit from child 4 of 5 who is calling in to see Mum in Dubai for 4 days on his way back to the UK after visiting his old friends in South Africa.

When I return from Canada child 5 of 5 will be here after his GCSE's until the beginning of September. Hubby is then off to Europe end of August, I then have friends making a quick stop over from South Africa on their way to Europe, and then I'm meeting up with hubby in the UK for a 2 week tour of Yorkshire where children 3 & 4 live then down to Gloucestershire to see parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, great nephews (niece's 2nd baby due August) and children 1, 2 & 5.

In October and November I'm returning to South Africa to work with 2 charities that have been close to my heart for nearly 5 years, I need to start the ball rolling with fundraising for educational and sanitary supplies, so any and every idea welcomed. My mother then comes to visit in december finishing off a very hectic year of travel and relocation from South Africa to Dubai.

Don't worry I haven't left Animal Tales out of all of this as the cat and dog will be spending some time in boarding and I'll be blogging about how they get on.

If you're interested in this weeks Animal Tales it can be found here where I tell you how we moved the cat and dog from South Africa to Dubai.

Next weeks HDYGG, Animal Tales and TimeTraveller will be an updated version of my trip to The Miracle gardens. The new butterfly house is now open and I'm looking forward to exploring it, plus the grounds where I'm hoping they've planted some new flowers.


























32 comments:

  1. What a thoroughly British day out! I remember visiting Malvern on a school trip many many years ago, it's a beautiful place.

    Good luck with all your travelling - what a jet set family you are!

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    1. I do miss Malvern, most of this travel isn't a lot of fun to be honest

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  2. I so wish you'd stayed... I don't live far from Malvern and it would have been fabulous to meet up. Sounds as though the next few months are going to be hectic - I hope you have a brilliant time x

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  3. The show looks great - and I'm sure this year's will be as good, and yes it's terribly British to have the picnic back at the car isn't it? :) Not such good news about your plants though, hope they pull through #timetraveller

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    1. they always have something different at the 3 counties show each year, my favourite was the human cannon ball

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  4. This looks like a brilliant day out!! I love your pics. I will have to keep an eye out for this next year as it looks a lot of fun.

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    1. it is such a fab day out and you really do get your moneys worth with the entry fee, sunday after 3pm i think is free and afternoons cheaper, you'd need to check the website

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  5. Oh my goodness I feel exhausted just reading about your schedule for the coming months but it all sounds very exciting. Similar to the Forest of Dean, we love about 45 minutes from Malvern but have visited very rarely, I was there a few weeks ago at an optometrist appointment and my son and I said that we really need to go and walk the hills this summer, it is a beautiful part of the country. I went to the Three Counties when I was a child but haven't been since. I love the railway, that is such a lovely idea.

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    1. Malvern is a fab place to visit, there's a cafe up the North hill accessible from the town called St Ann's Well, mind you if you climb the Beacon there's a pub at the bottom after you get back down

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  6. That does look like a classically British day out, so I was pretty surprised to see a photo of Masai dancers pop up! Sounds like you've got a busy few months ahead, I'd love to know more about the charities you'll be fundraising for.

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    1. Hi Phoebe, I too was surprised with the Masai, they were doing a tour of the UK, also performed at middle son's school the same week. The charities I'm involved with are www.santashoebox.co.za in Pretoria and http://www.viva-sa.co.za in Mamelodi Township.

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  7. Oh wow this looks like it was a fun day out. My boy would love that miniature railway :-) #timetraveller Sabrina x

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    1. my son is now 16 and still revisits his old school to see the train

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  8. I saw a report on this year's Malvern Show on Gardeners' World the other week. I've been through the area a couple of times but never stopped. It does looks like it has a beautiful setting. You have an extremely packed diary for the rest of the year! I don't know how you can keep up with all the comings and goings!

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    1. no idea how I'm keeping up at the moment, but working to schedule

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  9. Looks like a fun family event! So true about the view, so stunning! #hdygg

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    1. i've been many times to various events there and it's just as much fun with or without the kids, in fact a lot cheaper without them

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  10. Ah this takes me back to my childhood as we used to visit there as a family. I still remember all the miniature traction engines lined up and the smell as they 'wheeeshed'. Love Malvern and haven't been for a while now.
    You have a busy time coming up and I'm really looking forward to hearing what you will be up to with the charities in South Africa as Africa holds a dear place in my heart.
    Thanks for joining in again lovely x

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    1. think i'll be adding a back link to my charity work in SA to HDYGG, time traveller, project 365, my sunday photo and animal tales each week between now and when i visit again

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  11. Love the picnic next to the car! But it does all really look like a lovely place and day out - and also, doesn't time zip along.....! Visiting from Time Traveller

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    1. doesn't feel like 5 minutes ago the kids were living at home

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  12. Gosh you are busy! I've been to Malvern many years ago and really enjoyed it, love nothing more than inspiring gardens and plant combinations.

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    1. really starting to miss home and a stable lifestyle, all this travelling is quite tiring

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  13. Wow, what a great day out! The little railway made me remember one that used to specially visit my Yorkshire school as a child for fetes and the like! :)

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    1. i grew up in Yorkshire, used to love travelling on the steam railway at Pickering

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  14. I do slightly miss a good English garden show - even the picnic in the car park!

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    1. me too, all the shows here are indoors now till the winter months

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  15. Ahh I love looking back at past days out, looks like a lovely place to be,
    Shame the gardening hasn't been as promising as hoped, but I do so admire your perseverance.
    I can not believe how crazy busy your schedule is, the charity work sound intriguing, can't wait to hear more,

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    1. going to start archiving the charity posts and publish some new ones. The garden has performed better than I'd hoped for

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  16. It's festivals like Malvern that makes me love Britain, they are such good fun.
    Your life is incredibly busy right now, all coming and going, packing and unpacking - I'm not sure I envy you but I'm pleased you'll have so much family over to visit over the next few months.

    I am so sorry it took me so long to get back to you, family life got in the way but thank you as always for linking up to Time Traveller

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    1. Thank you for commenting and i remember those days well, family life. son arrives on monday night, can't wait

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