Inspiration
The Summer of 2020: Part II
And then – we were to be in Scotland for weeks. We woke that first day to find bright skies and a powerful breeze; blue skies over Jura… Mavis was...
The Summer of 2020: Part 1
I am sorry it’s taken so long to write. It’s for all sorts of reasons. Partly, you’ll understand, that for all of us, hours merged into days, days into weeks...
When are you going to blog again?
There was a rather forlorn, but kind, comment posted recently on my last blog: “When are you going to blog again?”. And I’m sorry it’s been such a long time....
A second month in the country
How’s it possible that four weeks have drifted by since my last blog? Partly – work has been weirdly busy… from time to time, intensely so. Partly, Charlie and I...
From the virtual world, back to the real one
I titled my last post: Life, suspended. As the days and weeks drift by curiously quickly, yet simultaneously slowly, I think we may all know what I mean. And now,...
Life, suspended
A week of more walks, doing the vital daily round; of more long days, with early starts, working harder than I’d somehow imagined possible right now (which makes me feel...
I think it’s going to be okay
We’ve had another week of beautiful mornings – although cold, with a biting east wind. But our daily round of getting up and taking the dogs out as the sun...
The chip at the end of a bar of soap
The title of this blog will make sense only if you ready to the very end. But I wonder, is your week more a tiny bit settled at the end than...
The View from Here
This evening, I’m sitting in the kitchen. The dogs are on the sofa, Charlie’s cooking, it feels like any normal evening in Dorset. This was the view on our walk...
Making a difference when it matters
This is the 442nd blog. That’s a long, long time of writing blogs. I’ve just counted up, and in so doing, I’ve spanned 11 years of writing, of memories, thoughts...
How can architecture help make places beautiful again?
On Friday, possibly, I guess, the last such gathering for a little while, I spoke at a conference in Cerne Abbas organised by that brilliant organisation, the CPRE, the Countryside Charity,...
Going nowhere
As the world, literally, loses its head, I’ve somehow been finding mine. I’ve gone nowhere and done nothing. The routine has been simple. An early morning walk to the cricket...
Three weeks in the country…
Actually, that’s what’s about to happen. Charlie has gone to New Zealand, last week, to visit his family – and for various reasons this time I’ve stayed behind. I decided...
Norfolk spectacles and Dorset storms
W E E K O N E It was a brilliant bright day as Charlie, Ruth (aka the Bible of British Taste – by the way, have you checked...
Quiet times in Scotland
We’ve had the quietest weekend in Scotland and it’s been so good. Charlie and the dogs left from Dorset on Wednesday, and I got up on Friday morning after a...
American classic
We’ve been on a whirlwind visit to America… we arrived in Washington on Wednesday evening, late. On Thursday morning, very bright and early, on a crisp, clear, wintry day, we...
The turn of the year
Are you reading this at the beginning of the first day back to work? I’ve called this blog the turn of the year, but of course, it’s the turn of...
Waiting
The shop is sparkling now… looking so beautiful, dressed for Christmas. Thanks to all those who came for the Lambs Conduit Street Christmas Party on Thursday last week…. And for...
Peace on earth
After lengthy trips to Dorset and Cornwall last week, I took the train back up to London on Thursday afternoon and caught the sleeper train from Euston in good time....
Week of contrasts
It’s been a week of contrasts. I can’t really make the connections between the dots, except by a narrative of very separate events and moments. I. On Wednesday,...
For the long term
A couple of weeks ago, I gave a speech to a packed audience of American architects and interior decorators who were over in London for the Design Leadership Network Summit...
New rhythms to life
For all sorts of reasons, I find I haven’t written a blog for weeks. The month of October slipped into November quietly… and Charlie and I have found ourselves in...
Rest amidst the storm
I started the week with a lost voice. Talking too much? A sore throat? Probably, all of the above, and then just spending too much time whizzing here and there...
Thanksgiving
It’s been a good week, and a productive one, but it felt like quite long at times too. I got back from Scotland on Sunday night. A very busy few...
En route….
This was meant to be a blog about moving into Scotland. But I’m 100 photos in and we just arrived at the bothy. So, that will be another blog, because...
Two favourite places
P A R T 1 : N E W Y O R K Somehow, there aren’t many more views in the world as thrilling as this…. the towers...
High Summer weeks
It seems weeks ago that I got down to Dorset at the end of one of the longest and craziest weeks in the office in a fair while – three...
Progress at Tornagrain
This will be a blog of many pictures and few words, designed to give everyone who’s not able to get themselves to Inverness a good look at the emerging town...
The mid Argyll Show
Charlie and I have been up at the bothy for a progress meeting with the builder. Things have moved along amazingly in the last three or four weeks since we...
Holiday reading
Yet again, a month has gone by. My autumn resolution is to get writing weekly or fortnightly – there is something about the rhythm of the blog that needs the...
The consolations of nature
This was meant to be a blog about a beautiful weekend Charlie and I had had in Scotland – and the week before that, in Suffolk. We’d arrived in Scotland...
Small moments of peace…
In my memory, maybe it’s right, maybe not, this time last year we were having a bit of a heatwave. Not this June. I left London this morning in a...
Family Gathering, Cornwall calling
We’ve been down in Dorset all week, since the bank holiday. I’ve had work in Poundbury. The evenings have been dreamy… Strange to think that last autumn, Charlie dug up...
Time flies when you are having fun….
At the end of every weekend for the last month I’ve been saying “oh golly I’ve got to write a blog”. And at the end of every weekend either something...
Spring break
It’s been that magical moment since I last posted…. when spring breaks. The Easter weekend was beautifully hot and still in Dorset, but nonetheless the leaves on the trees were...
West Country to East Coast
We were in Dorset during the week…. always a pleasure. It was Dad’s birthday supper on Tuesday; I visited local job sites on Wednesday, including a meeting for the church...
Going away and not doing too much at all
Thank you for the kind, thoughtful, beautiful comments on the last post; there’s no doubt whatsoever that the thoughts and prayers of friends – and of those who read the...
Life
It’s been six or seven weeks since I’ve written. Those that follow me over on instagram will already know that Mum died suddenly, of a heart attack, on the evening...
Quiet Times
We got back from America and have had the quietest time… Recovery and catching up. But… we also collected Enid. Oh golly. For those wondering, she’s not a relation of...
One week in the Deep South
We’re back! We had a fantastic time… thank you to every single blog reader that we met who made us so welcome. Charlie and I are having the quietest weekend,...
The promise of January
I’m writing on what has officially been labelled, by people who label things, as the most depressing day of the year. In fact it was a beautiful day in London,...
The promise of January
I’m writing on what has officially been labelled, by people who label things, as the most depressing day of the year. In fact it was a beautiful day in London,...
Time Flies, Year Turning…
I am sorry – that’s all I can say. I can’t believe quite how much time has passed since I actually last wrote… time has been flying; since I got...
Now we are ten!
Hello from New Zealand. I can’t say it is the warmest summer I’ve known here, but can you imagine how wonderful it is to be transported into long days and...
A time to remember
It’s been a sensational two weeks, although I’ll confess I got back from Scotland and down to a project in Cornwall and promptly got the cold that’s been doing the...
Old and New Memories
The autumn colours have been extraordinary this year. A couple of weekends ago, we had our friend Amy staying – the day was bright but the wind was bitterly cold...
West Country week…
I’ve been out of London for the last ten days. It’s a rather strange feeling waving good-bye (metaphorically) to the Thames and Somerset House on the bus on the way...
One month later….
You blink, and a month has whizzed by! What happened? Well, I’m still alive, at least. What happened was, I got far too crazy to blog. Thank you for everyone...
Early Autumn in Dorset doing nothing very much at all
The garden has reached that peak early autumn moment – wild and ebullient, blowsy, waiting for the first frost. I arrived on Dorset on Friday evening, and we had a...
Decoration position available
There’s no blog this week, but there is a job being advertised in the Interior Decoration office! We are looking for a bright and enthusiastic new assistant in the studio....
It’s Showtime!
From Italy, back to the green of England. It’s been amazing how a couple of weeks of normal temperature and a bit of rain make everything completely green again. Last...
Dreaming of Italy
I’ve only been back a week, but Italy already feels like a dream. Summer is shifting now; here for a week or two longer perhaps, but that moment of new...
Pootling about
PART I I followed Charlie back from Stockholm a day late, and had a beautiful day heading to Richmond Park for our friend Monica’s birthday. London steamed in sultry heat,...
Swedish Classical
I’m just back from a wonderful few days in Stockholm. Yesterday, I was giving a talk to the Engelsberg Summer School students – and that prompted the thought that Charlie...
In suspension
Wednesday evening was not good. Here is our friend Ruth Guilding (author of the incredible Bible of British Taste) and Charlie, at the Pineapple, Leverton Street, which was the perfect...
The endless weeks of summer
I can’t quite remember anything like it, and I’m not talking about our mad politics. In the ten years since I’ve lived at the Parsonage, there have been some wonderful...
Two weekends in High Summer
The heat has been amazing. The earth is dry. It feels as if we are hurtling into late summer already. Walking this morning felt like being in Italy in the...
In a New York State of Mind…
It’s a strange thing about time, isn’t it? Ask me what I was doing last Thursday week and frankly I’ve got no idea. Ask me what I was doing 19...
Summer passing
The late spring and freezing winter is forgotten. Summer has burst upon the valley and, blinking in the early, early mornings, we realise that we are only a few weeks...
Wedding Weekend
It seemed as if England basked in sunshine and happiness. I got down to Dorset on Friday evening to find the Parsonage glowing. Suddenly summer is upon us.
Monumental landscapes
We have had our friends Spencer and Austin staying over from New York. Always an opportunity for a monumental tour – which started with a visit to Chettle House, our...
Spring into Summer
I remember one of the things I found strangest of all living in New York was the absence of a proper spring. Well into April, ice cold winds could blow...
Where have the weeks flown?
One minute, it was winter. The next minute, it was high summer. And I’m writing this evening, at the Parsonage, next to a fire, with cold grey clouds scudding across...
Thanksgiving
No – not the time of year – but our amazing response, in the village, to the appeal that I made at the end of the blog last week. Everyone...
Glimmers of hope
Regular readers of the blog will again be aware that a post hasn’t popped into their email address boxes for a week or two. I am sorry…. it’s been a...
Snow expected & snow unexpected
Charlie and I went skiing last week for a few days, to France. It was the first time I’d been in years, and it’s always reassuring to realise I’m not...
Thaw
The snow was wonderful. I love the sense of disruption: a bit like the flu, when you have to cancel carefully laid plans left right and centre; but this time,...
Hello Sibyl…
Oh golly, this has been one of those incredibly happy weekends that come once in a blue moon. You know what I mean? Sibyl our new corgi was arriving. Charlie...
Small moments
If you are driving along the lanes not too far from us, just to the west of the village of Long Bredy, you will see a beautiful display of snowdrops...
Staying put
I suppose when you’ve been a very long way, the best thing of all is not to go very far at all. I’ve had a fortnight to get used to being...
The wide open spaces of Summer
So January has nearly disappeared and we didn’t even blink! What happened? I’m afraid it’s taken me a week to get back to the blog – as I’m sure you’ll...
Renewal
I hope you’ve had a really peaceful Christmas and New Year. Charlie and I headed down to Dorset on the Thursday before Christmas, leaving behind a deserted London. The countryside...
Scotland calling
Charlie and I are just back from a beautiful few days in Scotland. While the rest of the country was blanketed in snow, we had freezing, clear, sparkling days. We...
Into Winter
Nothing’s really been happening – which is nice: a moment of peace before we tip headlong into Christmas. I got sick momentarily, cancelled meetings and went to bed for a day...
The Yeovil and District Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society Welcomes Everyone
If you’d spotted Charlie and me at a little after two o’ clock on Saturday afternoon, you might have been a bit surprised. This is where we were, in Yeovil....
Autumn in Venice
We arrived in Venice to sparkling blue skies and sunshine.
The moment when you first catch sight of the spires of Venice across the lagoon is always breathtaking.
Temples of delight
Yet again you will be wondering where the blog has gone. If you are, by any chance, a new and budding ‘blogger’, you will know that the first rule of...
Out of Season
We’ve been trying to find a weekend to visit our friend Ruth Guilding down in Cornwall for months. Regular blog readers will recall Ruth not only as author of the brilliant...
Harvest song
It’s been a village weekend. Autumn is settling over the valley. On Friday, Charlie was teaching a flower course at the Parsonage, with our friends Bridget and Henrietta, of the...
One month
It’s been the craziest month. You might have been wondering where I’d gone. Was I ever going to blog again? The truth is we’ve had a wonderful but manic month,...
You cannot get too much of a good thing
I’m on the train back up to London – a dark evening, pouring rain – never good on a Sunday night at the best of times – and the weekend...
Morning and Evening; Summer’s end.
The main event was the Melplash show, and don’t miss reading about that here. But it’s been the most amazing long weekend in Dorset – well, everywhere, I think –...
Melplash Revisited
We arrived at the show after a quick pub lunch to be greeted by a wonderful clown on a hobby horse. It was going to be that kind of a...
Facendo nulla
(is Italian for ‘doing nothing’). I’m home from Italy. Back here, Charlie’s been manically getting ready for the Melplash show. As I write, he’s still over in the Horticultural Tent...
Scottish sojourn
I’ve just come back from a few days in Scotland. Heaven. It’s about that time of year when Charlie starts getting itchy feet to travel north, like a homing pigeon...
Life cycles
In amongst the torrential rain, it was a lovely weekend at the end of a busy old week. On Friday, I popped over to see Mum & Dad, on the Isle...
Weeks of endless Summer
Where has the time gone? I’m afraid you must have been wondering if I was ever going to blog again, but at the same time, I also know that you...
Dedication…
The sharp eyed amongst you may have noticed that my first book, English Decoration, was dedicated ‘to Anthony Sykes, who understands more about English Decoration than anyone I know’.Later, we’ll see more of...
The View from Here
Apologies for those who use this blog as a way to ease themselves into the week ahead on a Monday morning. Last week, for some reason, I couldn’t quite think...
Mexico is the….
Well, I couldn’t have said it better than this jacket in the bar of the restaurant we went to one night! Too right. We’re back! We had the best time...
Two weeks go by
I realise a couple of weeks have passed since I last wrote; it’s Monday evening, at the end of a quiet Bank Holiday, and I’m on the late train back...
By pastures green
One of the strange things about renting two houses is that you spend a lot of time travelling between the two. I suppose that my weeks, in the main, are in...
Happy times, in two parts
P A R T O N E The blog was on a bank holiday last weekend. Did you notice? It’s not that I’d stopped keeping my eyes open, but...
Tangier, revisited
PART I – Tangier It’s been a mad old week. More than once this weekend, Charlie and I were pinching ourselves thinking “this time last week we were….” to which...
Time standing still
It’s been a strange experience, this weekend, to have an almost intense summer heat before the leaves on the trees are beginning to unfurl. But the garden is exploding.
Staying put
Spring is springing. We were sitting in the garden this evening, in warm sunshine, at half past six, thinking how strange it is that only a month ago it would...
Spring calling
It’s been a perfect weekend in Dorset. The end of a pretty hectic week – a weekend of peace and quiet had never been more welcome. On Friday evening I...
Chatsworth
M I D W E E K E X C U R S I O N Charlie and I have been at Chatsworth today. Neither of us had been, and believe...
From a vision, to the start of a reality
It’s Monday evening and I’ve just come back from two brief, glorious days in Scotland. Charlie stayed in Dorset with Henry and Mavis, to which end, time and again, I...
In the high places of Dorset
If you want to write a blog on a Sunday evening, don’t bump into your friends Jasper and Oisin on the train home that afternoon to London from Yeovil Junction....
Playing with Castles
We’ve been in Wales for the weekend, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons, in a little dreamworld. With our friends Brandon and Will (and their dog Lewis) we’d rented the...
The Echo Chamber
It’s a stormy, windy night in Dorset. A gale is tearing through the valley, and Charlie, Mavis, Henry and I are sitting by the fire hearing the rain dash against the...
Dream world
Apologies for not posting last weekend. I hope you didn’t miss it. I arrived in London early on Monday morning to find I’d left my camera in Dorset. So the...
Meandering by the river
We were in London for the weekend. On Friday night we had our office Christmas Party. It’s become a bit of a tradition at Ben P towers that Christmas Parties...
Quiet days are the best right now
We’ve had the quietest weekend. Nothing happened at all. Bliss. Today, it’s rained all day – great swathes of rain washing over the valley, the skies dark and wintry. I’ve...
Morning and Evening
A bonus blog this week. Today, Charlie and I were down in Dorset – heading to Devon for my great-uncle’s funeral, where it was a sad but wonderful day learning...
Prelude
This blog starts with a prelude to great things. We went to Bridport early on Saturday morning. The market was quiet but Charlie and I came away with a haul...
Melancholia
This was the first ever photograph I took of Percy…. and so, so sadly – this is the last. Taken the day before New Year. On Monday, a week ago, very...
Something Old, Something New
It’s not blue Monday yet; that’s next week. So we can still say, Happy New Year! But if you’re like me, the holidays seem a slightly distant memory. Suddenly, this...
Looking back, and forward
Yay! Charlie’s back, after a wonderful but so-quick-trip to NZ, and we’ve had the quietest week down in Dorset with Henry, Percy and Mavis. The day he arrived home, he was knocked...
Into the mist
This week has been about not very much at all. The time has flown by. It’s Monday morning in Dorset; Monday night in New Zealand, and I’ve just spoken to...
Quiet times
Mavis and I don’t entirely know what to do with ourselves. Yesterday afternoon we drove Charlie to the airport and said a sad goodbye as he headed off to New...
In Preparation
I’m afraid this is going to be the shortest blog ever, partly because the week has whizzed by quicker than ever. Here’s a photo of the house this evening, a...
The best things never change
We had Bridie, and our friend and neighbour Gabby Deeming (of House & Garden fame) staying for the weekend… and had the quietest time you could imagine. The kitchen sofa...
In a New York State of Mind
Charlie and I are back from the most wonderful trip to New York – we arrived home on Wednesday night, but it already feels like a dream. I’m sure I’ll...
Home and Away
I think I wrote in my last blog, about Lisbon, how a hidden purpose of travelling to new places is to realise how much you love the familiar. A couple...
A weekend on the tiles
LAST WEEKEND Last weekend Charlie and I went to Lisbon. It had been high on our lists for a while. We got in late on Friday afternoon and rolled into...
Modern art on a hangover is not a good combination
We had our friends Brandon and Will staying. Friday night was quiz night in the village hall. No-one was very good at the answers but as usual we were good...
Pictures not words
PART I Hanging on the wall of my office is a poster I bought a few years ago at the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm, by Andy Warhol. I...
The Melplash Show
I have that feeling that I am taking a step back in time, and yet only by a two or three weeks. How quickly summer slips in to Autumn, but...
The Great Fire Bonfire….
I was planning to blog about the Melplash show, and Charlie’s dahlias, this week – but that is going to have to wait a night or two. Tonight – an...
A month in the country
I’m back in London for the first time tonight in a month. I realised, when I was chatting with Charlie this morning, at the end of our wonderful month in Dorset, that...
Classical Landscapes
This, too, is a blog in parts, so that you can dip in and out when you wish. I F O R D Last week, Charlie and I were in...
The joy of the everyday
Last week was one of those weeks (as some of you will have noticed) where I entirely ran out of time to post a blog. Events had conspired. No matter....
High Summer
Time is flying at the moment…. but I suppose the way to calm it down is to stay still, in one place, for more than a minute. I got down...
Too nice to leave
It was a lovely weekend. I’m writing a day late – it was that nice. We had our friends Jamie and Richard staying, who are themselves old friends of one...
A year ago today….
Charlie and I were throwing our wedding party down in Dorset. Rather than writing something new this morning, I’ve been enjoying just thinking about what really was one of the...
Business as usual
In the interests of business as usual, here is a blog about nothing particular at all. I’m glad to say that some things don’t change in Dorset…. Charlie’s huge flower...
Everything will be alright
From time to time there are moments in life when I feel quite calm, completely clear-headed, even managing amongst it all to find a vital sense of humour, when everyone around...
Back home
I arrived in Dorset late-ish on Friday night, at the end of a very long week. There is nothing in the world more happy than being met by Charlie at...
West Coasting
We’ve just got back from a wonderful, happy few days North. We called in on the way up with our friend Issy in the Scottish Borders. Heaven. June feels like...
Village Celebration, in Seven Acts
This is a story in seven acts. It was the village celebration for the Queen’s 90th Birthday this weekend. Okay, okay, a week earlier than everyone else in the Country,...
High Summer, already
It’s been a rare bank holiday of beautiful weather from start to end. When did that last happen?
Dorset has fallen headlong in to summer.
Weekend in Rutland
We’ve been in Rutland for the weekend – for a wonderful wedding of our friends Connie and Tom. In a strange sense, Connie is familiar to every one of our...
Early summer days
The sun has shone on Dorset this weekend. I’m writing on a quiet Sunday evening after the most fantastic couple of days. We’ve had our friends Will and Brandon (and...
Pottering about in West Dorset
After the washout of the Bank Holiday weekend in Cornwall…. enjoyable as it was…. it was nonetheless rather a rare and lovely feeling to be arriving in Dorset on Friday...
Happy times in Cornwall
You might have been wondering where I went again….. but in this case it was just another manic week. I can’t tell you what a relief it was to get...
Slow recovery
Some of you may have been wondering where I’d gone. The day before we were meant to go to Lisbon, I came down with a really horrible flu. I woke that...
Time flying
Where’s the blog gone, you’ll have been asking… and time has been rushing by. It’s been one of those moments where I have just had to get my head down...
Small details
I can’t tell you how many hours I seem to have spent being stuck in a traffic jam on the Marylebone Road. For those that don’t know London, this great...
Wighting
We’ve been on the Isle of Wight for a weekend with Mum & Dad. I know. We went on a tour of the Island to show Charlie some of the...
Days lengthening
Sorry for no blog last week. The trouble is, life’s pretty busy from time to time, as I’m sure you know. So there will be the odd intermittent delay –...
Work in progress
Regular readers of the blog (and of a particularly lively comments page) will remember that a few weeks ago I caused minor consternation in benworld by announcing that the garden...
The Art of Interior Decoration
I’ll be honest. If you asked me on most Sunday mornings, I never have a clue what I’m going to blog about that evening (well, in fact, it’s early Monday...
Local museums
I don’t know what it is, but I’ve always preferred a small local museum to the big boys. Something about the charm of the displays; the often rare survivals of...
London meandering
We had such a nice day, on a walk we must have done fifty times but where you always discover something new. I’d been completely laid out this week… not...
Home time
When you’ve been away – there’s nothing nicer than getting home. And nothing nicer than being in Dorset on a crystal clear sunny morning, with a heavy frost in the...
Summertime, and the living was easy
So we got back safe and sound on Friday…. and it’s been a very quiet weekend. There’s no doubt it takes a little while for the brain to catch up...
L.A. story, in 36 hours
Happy New Year! Sorry for the strange timing but it’s been wonderful to keep my laptop shut, as I am sure you can imagine. Charlie and I are slowly floating...
Slow recovery
Well, we were never going to feel very well this morning – but it was BAD. Charlie and I went to the amazing, beautiful wedding of our friends Jasper and...
Kentish Town with Ruth
Sorry for no blog last week. We still had no internet in Dorset. I can’t tell you what a joy that is. And we had no car, for various reasons,...
First Frost
It’s a very short blog this week. And late. Apologies! Do you know why? Because our internet is down in Dorset. Complete bliss. I didn’t so much as up my...
A Tale of Three Cities
This blog was going to be called A Tale of Two Cities; London, and Amsterdam. On Friday night, Charlie and I were in Amsterdam on a tiny break, happily celebrating my...
Perfect weekend, London, in two parts
BLOG PART I PERFECT SATURDAY It was the last day of Charlie’s pop up shop…. But we were closing early. At 1.45 the dresser was being packed up…. But a last...
To Kelmscott
Earlier in the week, I found myself with a spare hour or two at the end of a meeting in Oxfordshire. I could either jump straight into the traffic back into London...
Westward to the Malvern Hills
Charlie and I went to Ledbury for the weekend… to see our friend Phoebe Clive and, at the longest lastest, to visit (amongst other treats) her beautiful shop Tinsmiths. We...
Harvest song
The flower ladies were in the church on Saturday morning, decorating for the Harvest festival.
Pictures not words
It was a beautiful morning in Dorset… pale sunshine, filtered mist. This blog (you’ll be glad to hear) is one of those which has not very much to say –...
Indian Summer days
First up, an apology. Where was the blog last weekend, I guess you are wondering? It was all written in my mind – but Bridie, at the last minute, got...
Box of treasures
This is a short blog this week…. Partly, because yesterday I was writing an article for the FT, and there’s only so much writing you can do in a day;...
Autumn Turning
This is a strange tale, but very funny… If you happened to read last week’s blog, I said I’d be posting some photos of the new shop. Last weekend, Bridie...
Changes of climate
It’s a strange thing isn’t it… how one minute you’re there, the next minute you’re here. On Monday, Charlie and I were near Lucca, for Valentina’s birthday. The plan had...
Late Summer landscapes
I remember some friends of a friend coming back from a long holiday in Tuscany one August to announce that the time “had been characterised by rain and conversation”. Which sounded like...
Two Florentine Gardens
As you will know, the blog is on holiday. I hope you might be too… or at least, I wouldn’t try reading this all at once. It’s a blog in...
Incidental details
We’d been out near Henley for lunch today. A beautiful day and a delicious time. And then, Charlie had to head down to Dorset to get permission from the garden...
High Summer in Oxfordshire
It’s been a perfect weekend in Oxfordshire, of high summer gardens and the blue moon. We were staying at Wardington, but on the way, leaving London lazily on Saturday morning...
The Church will be locked overnight…
There was a slightly ominous tone to the rules of the Long Bredy Flower Arranging Competition flyer that had been dropped through our letterbox a week or so ago. Especially…....
Getting back to normal (a day or two late)
We had the quietest weekend down in Dorset… Once Friday night was out of the way – there was a huge party in the village, our neighbour Glen & Mandy’s summer bash...
The best ever blog?
Okay, I should probably never blog again after this. Don’t worry – I’m not being serious…. but you may remember, if you are a very keen reader, that I said...
There’s a box on my street
If you know me well, you’ll know that one of my favourite films of all time is the movie Brazil, Terry Gilliam’s incredible essay on a dystopian, bureaucratic future which from...
Summer Evening, West Dorset
I’ll admit to finding something deeply special at this time of year, just after midsummer, at the particular time of day as the sun is about to set and the land...
New friends
This is another blog a little bit about books. You will see why. But then again, can there be too many? I wrote last week about the wonderful world of...
Lost and Found
It’s been an extraordinary weekend. So apologies for a long blog, but you will understand why. We had our friends Maggie and Stephen staying (or should I say, Maggie, and...
Sunset at Wardington
Charlie and I were staying in Oxfordshire this weekend – at Wardington, which I’ve written about before… the beautiful house owned by his friends the Elworthys and which has become...
Evening time
This is a short blog. It’s all about pictures, not about words. It’s about the moment, on the turn from Spring to Summer, as we rush towards the summer solstice,...
The Functional Tradition
It’s not often I write two posts in a week… but yesterday was an incredible day. We’re working on a wonderful project on the south coast where we are planning...
Meandering home
It was sort of a quiet weekend; sort of action packed. I’m sure you know what I mean. Friday started bright and early, with an amazing visit pre-gates opening to...
Fleeting moments…
I thought I’d put up a little mid-week post, before we forget it, of the beautiful window that Charlie has done for the shop this week. It’s Chelsea Flower Show...
Tourists in our own town
It was a bright and sunny Saturday. We were in London, for no particular reason other than we wanted a change of scene. Charlie got up at dawn for Portobello; I...
What’s waiting around the corner?
Hasn’t your week flown by? It’s something in the air of spring. No sooner had we blinked but it was Friday night, and a delicious, mad, funny dinner with our neighbours the...
Weekend wanderings and unexpected pleasures
Rain and mist swept across Dorset this weekend, but it didn’t seem to matter. We needed something to remind us it was a bank holiday, after all. Charlie and I...
Tulip time… in London
I have a strange feeling, from time to time, judging from the comments pages, that some readers might have decided to lie in bed for a whole weekend, turn off...
Spring Days on the Isle of Wight
Charlie and I went to visit Mum & Dad on the Isle of Wight this weekend, for two days of beautiful spring sunshine. The talk was of New Zealand travels...
Pictures without words
We’re back! I hope you haven’t missed the blog too much. (I haven’t… heheh). What can you write about New Zealand? We saw so much, did so much, met so...
Relative values
I’m about to go a very long way and I’m getting so excited I can’t tell you. Charlie’s been home in New Zealand for a few weeks now. As I...
Staying still
I haven’t felt like moving very far this weekend. And I haven’t moved very far at all. I walked down for tea with my landlord yesterday, and across the road...
Come home soon
Charlie’s away. He’s in New Zealand (as some of you may have already guessed. Did you work out that Charlie wasn’t around last weekend?). He has two weddings of friends to...
Fifteen minutes…
It was springtime at Columbia Road. (that’s a little photo from my instagram posts. If you are not familiar with Instagram, may I just tell you how addictive, and fun,...
Snowdrop time
“…….Oh B, I’d really like to see some snowdrops this year” said Charlie, a couple of weekends ago. I had a quick think, and called my erstwhile builder Raymond Williams, who...
Winter turning
There’s always a false dawn around this time of year, but I can’t help but wonder if winter is turning. I’m noticing how much lighter it is in the mornings...
Meandering on the Somerset border
We had a fantastic weekend. There is not a lot to write, but a lot to look at. Bitterly cold winds swept across Dorset, but accompanied by bright sunshine –...
The kindness of strangers
One of the amazing things about writing a blog is the number of people, who were once strangers, who one gets to know from all over the world. Some I’ll...
Are you a Roundy or a Squary?
….Phew… well that was the most commented-upon-blog-ever-by-a-very-long-way. THANK YOU. Amazing. I guess we’re all pretty amazed! A few months ago I mentioned that I wanted to write a blog about...
Love letter to Charlie
Six months ago this week my life was turned upside-down. I had the amazing fortune to be introduced to the most wonderful person I’ll ever meet… the most wonderful person...
New Year glow
This blog was going to be a bit of a rant. I’ve been staring at too many friends’ photos on Instagram showing beautiful Caribbean beaches, and it’s been getting me...
London Special Double Billing…
I hope you’ve had the best Christmas ever. We were down with Mum and Dad on the Isle of Wight, and had a lovely time. But this time, the blog...
Have the Happiest Christmas with love from all of us
Here is a little sneak preview of the next blog; a photograph of Peter Hone’s drawing room – which in its own fragile white way is about as Christmassy as...
A day late, a day early…
The blog is getting very erratic these days isn’t it? A day late, a day early. How does anyone know where they stand? But we’re down in Dorset, waiting for...
Better late than never…
It’s a funny thing. I meant to post on Sunday night… having driven down from London to Dorset, arriving at the Parsonage after dark, after an unexpectedly wonderful weekend. But...
I’d like you to recommend yourself
This is a bit of a trip down memory lane. If blogs had existed when I lived in New York, getting on for 12 to 15 years ago now, this...
Soft late November
From time to time you stop on the roller-coaster of day-to-day life and think to yourself: how can time be spinning so fast? I suppose, really, there are only 52...
Hudson days
I wonder if you’ve been wondering where I’ve been? Instagram followers were one stage ahead. Needless to say…. A couple of short lovely days in New York…. staying with Valentina,...
Golden and silver Valley
The weekend got off to a shaky start for some. It was bonfire night in the village, where we watched a fantastic display under the stars… and then the real...
Late Indian Summer
It’s been a hectic week. It was bliss to get to Dorset and to finish a long day of meetings on Thursday, and collect Charlie on the late afternoon train,...
RIP Ben’s Blog
I was terrified to read a comment posted by Jess last week that said “RIP Ben Pentreath’s Blog, thanks for the good times, you’ll be missed”. You realise what happens...
The best things are the least expected
I’m afraid the blog has had a cold today and yesterday. I’ve been in bed all day. So, sorry for being late. Can I say, before kind offers of sympathy,...
The heartbeat of London is singing
We set off incredibly bright and early to Columbia Road this morning. We’d had a happy boozy night with Bridie and Andy and it felt a little too much of...
Village thanksgiving
Can you believe this autumn, shifting softly from September to October without a whisper? I am not sure I can remember a more quietly beautiful time as this. I got...
Autumnal moments
On Friday night, Charlie and I drove back to Wardington… that magical garden in Oxfordshire that you first caught sight of on the blog a few months ago now, Glimpses...
Quiet days are made of this
A bunch of flowers for Monday morning. The dahlias are in their final flourish… I suspect that in a couple of weeks they will be almost over. So it was...
We’ve got the shopfront, now please bring your apron…
The beautiful pink and green and gold shopfront on Rugby Street is dazzling every passer-by. But now we need a new shop manager to come and look after it!...
Paris mornings
It’s that Paris time of year. It’s always a little crazy, just when you’ve got home from your holidays, to find yourself jumping on a train again, and this year...
dream world changing
We’ve been back for 2 days and I’m in a dreamlike place. Do you ever have that feeling that however fast an aeroplane can travel, your mind only moves as...
Absent with friends…
No words, no image… and above all…with apologies to regular readers: no laptop. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I’m off to Greece. Back to London in time for that magical...
Island revisited
One of the annoying things about a meeting out of London at 9.30 on a Monday morning is that the blog is unlikely to happen, as normal, on a Sunday...
Lie of the land
It’s been a beautiful weekend in Dorset, but I’ve been a touch reclusive as well. Those who fell victim of my hermit-like nature know who they are, and they know...
Summer cure
Well, thank you… for a lot of amazing comments at the end of the last blog. Life’s a lot more cheerful this Sunday than last, I’m glad to report. What...
Glimpses of things
It’s a strange thing, isn’t it, how you sometimes don’t understand the whole picture but merely see, very clearly, glimpses of things. Do you know what I mean? And if you...
Seaside jaunt
I’m always highly conscious when it’s 9am on a Monday morning and I haven’t yet posted a blog. The fact is I’m a whole 24 hours off, this weekend. Yesterday...
Who flicked the crazy switch?
It’s taken me a whole weekend to recover… and that includes a whole afternoon lying in bed watching the tennis final… do you know what I mean? What am I...
Sienese dream
I arrived home last night after 2 nights in Italy with Valentina and my friend Catherine. It was one of the happiest holidays I think I’ve ever had, and it...
Days out are made of this
It was a fun Friday in the office this week. Very, very sadly for us, it was time to say goodbye to Ruth, who’s been with us for a few...
We’re just crazy for Brazil…
…over here at Ben P towers. I imagine that the combination of ‘readers of this blog’ and ‘people who are interested in football’ must be about the smallest venn diagram in...
Rest
I’ll admit, I woke up this morning feeling rather healthier than last Sunday. That’s the difference between having the decoration office, and Mum & Dad, to stay at the Parsonage...
All work and no play…
…Is no way to run a life. We all know it, but it’s hard to remember sometimes. I think it’s true that just now life feels busier than it has in...
The nicest thing about the blog
… Is the rare experiences that it brings from time to time. This was an email that I received not too long after writing the other day about that great...
There’s a lot I’d like to show you
…this week, but I can’t. Lots has been going on, but my camera has been unusually quiet. I went to stay with Jasper Conran at dreamy Wardour Castle. “Of course...
Ten out of Tenn
Mmmmmm. Stockholm. Civilisation. I’m back in London and the whole thing feels a bit like a dream. We had a wonderful time. It rained and rained, and everyone kept apologising,...
On the cusp
There’s a moment, around now, when I suddenly realised that spring is on the brink of summer. I’m never quite ready in my mind. Are we nearly half way through...
English Style
If you’re anything like me, you buy a lot more books than you have time to read. My shelves are groaning. My bedside table is laden with books that could...
Tangerine dream
It’s Monday, I’m back in London, and I’m in a bit of a daze. Not just the effects of a weekend of expatriat-scale-cocktail-drinking after six weeks of Lenten abstinence. There’s...
Dreaming of Heat…
There is honestly nothing, nothing, in the world that I love more than that moment – which I think happened this weekend, down here in Dorset, when there’s a tipping point headlong...
Rain doesn’t stop play
I arrived in Dorset on Friday afternoon to find the house and garden bathed in remarkable sunshine. It felt like a midsummer evening. Will and Maggie were driving down for...
In praise of… Habitat in the early 70s
It’s nine o’ clock and I can’t believe where the evening has gone. Well, that’s what happens when the clocks change. But it’s also what happens when you’ve had a...
Never go back…
…was the wise advice Will gave me a couple of weeks ago. So true. I’d been asked by the Soane Museum to give a talk, last Monday evening. “What’s it...
Back to Normal
It’s been a bit of a secret of mine, really, but since last summer, around about the time I came back from Italy, the garden has been completely out of...
Morning at Franklin Farm
If I ever get around to writing another book, one of the reasons will be to publish photographs of my friends Kim and Pip’s farmhouse in Hampshire. I was staying...
Grand Budapest…
I’m afraid it’s a very short post today. So, I am sorry to upset your routine… but I’m on the road for work after a lovely weekend with Mum &...
Hockney Spring
You’d have felt a bit sad to be an old gold-framed Old Master hanging at the Dulwich Picture Gallery this weekend. The people were queuing to see Hockney. I’m afraid...
Close to Heaven
It’s been a weekend of houses and wide landscapes. I’ve been up on the coast again, in Norfolk. It was a dreamy, bright day on Friday, driving up to Norfolk...
New sales manager required
We’re really sad but Sophie is moving on. Sophie, it’s been great having you and we wish you all the best in your exciting new job! But this means we...
Days Lengthening
Well, who knew we’re an eighth of the way through the year already? At this rate it will be time to plan your Christmas holidays. Just when you thought we...
Events Spectacular
I’ve had my friends Ed and Simon staying – Ed Kluz, the artist, who we exhibited in the shop back in 2012 (and who has another show with us this...
Cyclical worlds
It’s been back to reality with a vengeance. The noise of Mexico City and the peace of Tulum seem an age away: hard to believe I’ve only been back a...
It’s strange to be back…
….and to welcome you to gloomy old London and a bright new home for the blog! I hope you all find your way around. As you will recall, we had...
New Year, new broom…
I'm afraid the photography is going to be the most basic ever. Ever! Bridie and I have spent the entire weekend having a massive clear out. I don't know quite...
The between time…
Sorry - I almost forgot it was Monday. I find the days between Christmas and New Year quite strange... curiously lethargic... not helped, perhaps, by another huge storm blowing across...
Happy Christmas!
With love from the Blog. Yay! I found the vibe!! Nothing nicer than time with family. I hope you're having a really happy day, wherever you are, whoever you're with!...
The cobbler’s children have no shoes…
(Or... it takes a long time for decorators to decorate their own home). I'm not quite feeling the Christmas vibe yet. I'll be honest. Something to do with the fact...
Gloom rising
For those that like to read the blog early on a Monday with their morning tea, in bed, please blame my friends David and Chris for throwing their annual Christmas...
There’s a reason why…
..... why What? Before I tell you what I really want to write about today, here's some gratuitously beautiful photos of a walk on Hampstead Heath this morning, with my...
The blog…
Has a cold. It's enjoying lying in bed taking a honey and lemon listening to Woman's hour. I will write soon! The post The blog… appeared first on Ben Pentreath...
Days from Heaven
"I just love this time of year". It's an expression I've heard time and time again recently. I suspect there is something of the autumn in all of us; that...
Contrasts
I think the blog is divided between people who like weekends in London and weekends in the country. Which are you? I love both. Part of me would have loved...
It’s time to say thank you
We're putting out the balloons at Ben P towers (thank you to Mr Tim Walker for the fantastic, dreamy image - Eglingham Hall). We're five years old this week, but...
It’s about the time of year…
When I realise just how much I love living in London. If you've been reading the blog for a while, you might remember one or two little odes to the...
Recharge
I love quiet dark Sunday evenings in the winter. And it's amazing how dark it suddenly was in Dorset this afternoon. A storm is blowing in, and as I write...
Winter evenings in a new coat
I'm a creature of habit, and I also love the regular things of life when they happen. I think you know this. That moment of turning the clocks back is...
Interlude
Do you ever have one of those days where you get out of the wrong side of the bed... and nothing goes according to plan? That was this weekend. I...
Scraping the surface
Drama on Rugby Street. On Friday, I got a message from the shop that sink holes were opening up in the street. What?! I think I'd vaguely been aware that...
Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon
I woke up this morning with a rare thought. I sort of had nothing to do. I mean, there's a ton of stuff on my list, but I decided that...
Dear Ben, please may we see…
What's been happening up at your flat in London? Is a question that - if you happen to follow the comments section of the blog - comes up from time...
Really New Beginnings
I've been hinting, from time to time, about some exciting developments in the shop. And they've all happened this week. For ages and ages, Bridie and I have been talking...
New beginnings
I love this time of year. I've probably written it already in the last couple of weeks;
The post New beginnings appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
I’ve missed you
...It's been a long time, as some loyal readers of the blog have taken to commenting on (which, I would say, is a fair comment), since I was in Dorset....
Dome with a view
A small post for a Thursday evening. When I wrote my brief blog about the Pantheon, I had a very interesting email from a reader, an architect, Tom Matthews, in...
Roman Mornings
I have a feeling that one of two readers would like to see what's up in Dorset (judging from the comments section). And I must admit, so would I. From...
The floor polisher of the Pantheon
You won't find me getting up early for the Sales. I slightly look down on (can I admit it?) that peculiarly British habit of getting up very very early to...
La Citta Ideale
It's strange how time flies on holiday. I'm lying in my hotel bedroom in Rome, in the middle of a massive thunderstorm (during which I could not of course resist...
Thank you…
To everyone who has very kindly entered my international conspiracy For Valentina's birthday and placed an order from Many Kitchens... it's worked! I am so grateful... Birthday going well... Here,...
The best things in life don’t change…
I realise that it's a year ago to the day (18th August) that I wrote a little blog about the Siena Palio that... how can I put it?... set the...
Oh dear oh dear oh dear…
Just when I'd said my farewells... Answered all emails. Check. Booked taxi for early morning departure: check. Said goodbye to everyone... check. Found out which day my niece's A-level exam...
Year Turning
I'm writing on Sunday evening, at the Old Parsonage. It's completely still and quiet. Perhaps the stillness is exemplified by the departure, earlier, of my friends Tom & Masie and...
North Norfolk Coastal
I left London on beautiful, baking hot Thursday morning. I was making my way to the coast - to Cley-next-the-Sea, where we've been asked to help on a fine small...
Dear Ben Pentreath…
... It's June 29th. Where is your Monday morning post? I love beginning my week by reading your faithful, regular entries; a little glimpse of home for a homesick Brit...
In a perfect world…
It was a serene Friday morning when Lucy and I left London, early, to drive down to our decoration project near Devizes. We're working on a dreamy old stone manor...
The real way of doing things
"That's a nice website you've got there, Ben", said Jim when we spoke this morning to talk about bricks. "Did you really take all those photos? Is that your garden?...
High Summer morning
I've got some interesting things to be writing about this week, but tonight, I'm very sleepy and I've got what you might call an early start in the morning. I'm...
In the beginning and at the end
Summer arrives: full-blown, blowsy, full of heat. The year tips imperceptibly... just beyond its half way point... and suddenly—as if by magic—the countryside is filled with the sounds and smells...
Just in case…
I don't know about you, but I suffer from horrific vertigo. I really should be a designer of bungalows. So, it was particularly troubling and yet deeply compelling to watch...
Edwin Smith at the Fry
Life is a journey of discovery: of making connections, working out your interests, finding the common threads that create the rich warp and weft of your particular piece of cloth....
On the Isle of Portland
What do you do in Dorset if it's midsummer and blowing a gale? (yes, yes, enough about the weather). Mum and Dad were staying this weekend. A huge wind was...
The pleasure of your company is requested…
Rugby Street surely is the finest street in Old London Town: we don't make that claim lightly! Have you ever seen anything as short and sweet? The twitter of streets....
Classical Hipsters
Thanks to the lovely people over at Tinsmiths for drawing these rather clever pictures to our attention, which I suspect are doing the rounds on the internet. Classical... Modern (for...
Ugly Buildings
This is probably going to turn out to be the longest professional suicide note in history. I really should be writing about how good the irises are this year. The...
On various ways of catching up
I've had the quietest weekend you can imagine. Valentina called from New York yesterday, for a catch up; and other than that phone call (p.s, Val's mum, just in case...
Alternative realities
I don't often find myself writing about work. Partly, I suppose, because this blog is about things that inspire me, and just on its own terms, that's a slightly different...
Why I love Dorset
I went for a spin this afternoon - in my Morris Minor, which, to be honest, has been a little under the weather for months. My friend and neighbour Mike...
Through the Woods
One of my favourite books, that I find myself returning to from time to time, is H. E. Bates's Through the Woods. Years ago, I used to spend a lot...
Normal Service Resuming
We are pleased to announce that normal service has resumed. No more politics, no more sadness. It was a beautiful early Summer weekend in Dorset and the blog contains nothing...
The Politics of Architecture
A lighthearted midweek post. Honest. For those American readers who've never heard or understood of weird British politics, let me explain a few things. We've got two main political parties,...
Syria my heart is bleeding for you
I spent the afternoon in the garden, doing simple things. I cut some hazel rods for the broad beans, and earthed up and planted potatoes. It was a chill, grey...
I didn’t know you but I miss you
I haven't long to write - because soon I'm off to the station and then to the airport, to Inverness - visiting our projects up there - both the re-working...
Dormant Spring
...On the other hand (for those who've just read my last post), one of the things I like most about this blog, for me, is that it weirdly now acts...
Family Album
One of the nicest things about settling down with my family last week was that Mum & Dad brought along a bunch of old photo albums. They make one realise...
Coastal Spring
A few days amongst the narrow-laned, softly rolling hills of the North Cornwall and Devon coast are drawing to a close. It's been a wonderful time, with my whole family...
Happy Easter!
The blog is on an Easter Holiday today.
The post Happy Easter! appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Walking the High Line
Oh man! What's the best thing thats happened to New York since I left?!? (please, excuse the pun). The High Line. Regular readers will recall my blog a couple of...
In praise of…John Derian
I think not a lot of people know that when we first opened the shop in London it was all a bit of what you might call a drugs front....
New York City, I love you…
"I'm not so in love with New York anymore" said my friend Thomas the other day, and I can't remember who else it was I was chatting to recently who...
And then there was one
Do you remember holidays as a child, which seemed to stretch for an eternity? Time is a weird thing, I find. How is it that days and nights move so...
In like a Lion, out like a Lamb?
Well, it's certainly a freezing start to March. I'm in London and as I'm writing, a snowstorm is threatening to blow in; and I've got to admit, without trying to...
Oh no, the sun came out…
I was quite happy with the freezing grey weather. In just over a week, I'm heading off to New York, and for a quick trip with my best friend Val...
Thinking of colour
For a little while now I've been thinking a lot about colour. Super-keen readers might recall a blog I wrote last summer about House and Garden Magazine in the 1960s,...
Spring turning…
I was sitting at my drawing board this afternoon, in Dorset, having dropped off my friends Tom, Maisie, Moss and Vera at the station. And I suddenly realised something. It...
Rena Gardiner: Chronicles of Dorset
Those keen readers who have discovered my friend Ed Kluz's website and blog will already know the discovery that he made when he and Simon were staying with me the...
Subliminal power
I had an extraordinary day today. I know that I said, at the end of the last blog, that normal service will resume next week - and I am sure...
And I’m happy to say that…
that particular vote passed.. and, yes, I'm happy. Now it's on to the next stages in Parliament, and doubtless lots more arguments, so I am afraid I can expect a few...
I’m sorry, but…
... I'm going to choke if I see another 'gay marriage lifestyle' photograph, euphemistically illustrating a newspaper 'think piece' about, um, gay marriage. The post I’m sorry, but… appeared first...
Swiss modern
Where's the best place for a traditional architect to go on holiday? Nope, it's not Italy, I've realised. And not even a stay in a nice old English town. If...
Monochromatic
There's a proper blog here, for those that are interested (and thank you for your interesting comments, already)... But we can't let the snow pass by without saying how much...
A Manifesto: In Praise of the High Street
I am sure you couldn't avoid the collapse of HMV earlier in the week. Farewell, His Master's Voice - but if you're like me, you got a bit bored of...
Making connections
If you had a look through the bookshelves at the Old Parsonage, the chances are, I suspect, that several hundred of the books you would find had been bought over...
Spring song and Summer song…
What is it about these dark January days? Yes, maybe, like me, you've noticed the mornings getting lighter, just slightly... yes, perhaps there is a blackbird that sings from time...
Quietly welcoming the New Year
Three quiet days in Dorset, with closest friends, to ring out the old and welcome in the New Year. I was sad to see 2012 go; a strange year in...
Classical Landscape, with Memories…
I hope you have had a fantastic Christmas - if you've been celebrating. Mine was quiet, but very very happy; in London, with Mum and Dad, and my neighbour Maggie,...
Happy Christmas!
Have a really happy, safe, peaceful Christmas, with best wishes from Ben.
The post Happy Christmas! appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Colours of Winter
It's been a simultaneously quiet and hectic weekend in Dorset. Perhaps an occupational hazard for the time of year? I went to three birthday parties, no less: my lovely neighbour's...
Answers on a postcard please
Last week I was lying low, I guess the result of a slightly hectic week. And this week it all caught up, and I've been ill. Once I admit to...
Lying low
It's been a weekend of lying low. We had a crazy party in the Social Club on Friday night that I could have done without on Saturday morning.... do you...
You can’t judge a book by its cover…
"Do you have Living in Vogue (1984)?" ...was the enigmatic pencil-written note on the back of old postcard that arrived from my friend Ruth (she who was putting me off...
Beautiful Britain November 1984
"OH GOD BEN" said my friend Ruth, this morning, at breakfast, "YOU'VE GONE AND TAKEN A CALENDAR PHOTO". It's true. It was a ridiculously beautiful morning in Dorset and I...
Goodbye, cluster, goodbye empty frames with vintage postcards
It's a strange world isn't it. You would expect, on a glorious sunny day in London, as it was today, that I would be writing this evening about what a...
Our Spitalfields Life
Opens this evening - please come! This evening at the shop, we are expecting a crowd! And if you can't make it, be sure to visit the Spitalfields online shop...
Absolutely nothing happened
It was a few years ago, in Charleston, South Carolina, that I found a little metal plaque on the side of an old Georgian brick building that read 'on this...
My Spitalfields Life
So I won't quite say that I lost my virginity in Spitalfields, because that wouldn't quite be true, but it was certainly the first time I had real fun. That would...
Welcome to the centre of the universe
"It's all very well coming from the capital", said the taxi driver this morning, "but what does it feel like being in the centre of the Universe?" The post Welcome...
About a farm…
Years and years ago, I guess when I was sixteen or so, I went on a French exchange along with a few other boys from my class at school. We...
Decoration in dreamland
I've just been doing a bit of reading. I've been asked to design a house by the sea, in a remarkable location, and for various reasons we're looking at John...
Fleeting moments
I arrived down in Dorset yesterday and had my friend Mary over for a great lunch and a long chat. But after she left, for a walk down the valley...
The wonderful world of Mr Walker
I'm not normally one for fantasy. I like to keep my feet planted on the ground, I guess, and I'm more interested in reality than dreams. But this week, can...
A Statement of Intent
I don't often write about architecture on this blog, or what we do in the office, but I thought you might be interested this exchange. And you might have noticed...
Golden Valley
It was a perfect evening when I arrived in Dorset on Friday; a remarkable, clear evening light shone across the valley. The sun set softly through a golden sky and...
Indian Summer days
Don't you love these days as late summer slips into early Autumn; not quite frosts, yet, but heavy, wet dews and misty mornings and then burning hot afternoons? My good...
The best things in life don’t change
Sharp eyed readers will be able to play spot the difference in this post. And be grateful that there isn't any! I know that somewhere deep in this blog you...
Dahlia Time…
Regular readers of this post will know I've got a bit of a thing about dahlias, which you can read here, or here or indeed here (that was a nice trip down...
A bit about the book
It's a funny process writing a book. I can't even remember how long ago it was that my friend Alison, then an editor at Ryland Peters & Small (and where...
Getting lost in Siena…
After my previous post, you might have thought I had an ulterior motive for getting lost in Siena. But no, this time, I am afraid, the visit was all about...
Quiet days in Chianti
There is something amazingly relaxing about going on holiday to the same place every year. I'm not quite sure what it is. I suppose that because you can anticipate, with...
It’s hotter in Siena
I've heard there's bit of a heatwave in London this weekend... but I can't help feeling it might have been hotter in Siena. We arrived on Thursday afternoon for the...
If the map fits, hang it…
Well, a lot of comments on the previous post seem to be to do with my map of London... I can sort of understand why! I can't quite remember when...
Moving pictures
Well, apologies for such brief postings; I can at last download photos again! And in the middle of Olympic-silent London, this weekend, I have moved. It was a fun if...
Deserted London…
Did you ever see (Sir) Danny Boyle's film '28 Days Later'? The brilliant opening sequence as the hero walks across Westminster Bridge to find he is the only person alive...
Sitting Down Sports
I will blog a bit more about the week's doings (for instance I'm about to move the first bits and pieces into my new flat...) when I've fixed my camera....
The Walled Garden
Is there anything more beautiful in the world than a walled garden? The answer we all know to be no. There is something so contained, so benign, about a walled...
And to Rousham…
A couple of weeks ago, to Garsington; and yesterday, to another dream Oxfordshire garden, Rousham. I am sure this needs no introduction to most readers, and in a sense I...
House and Garden in the early 60s
One of my obsessions? House and Garden Magazine in the 1960s. This is probably not the time to start rehearsing in detail the brilliance of the magazine's fantastic editor, Robert...
Apres moi, le deluge…
...or in the case of the Bride Valley this weekend, après le deluge, le soleil. A massive rainstorm swept through the valley yesterday; water poured off the hills, the River...
I’m afraid…
that at Ben Pentreath towers we might be supporting Federer tomorrow.
The post I’m afraid… appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
To Garsington
And then, from the Isle of Wight, I caught the train to Oxford, where I was met by Will and Alexa, and we drove to my friend Catherine's house at...
Messing about with boats
I think a very large part of my childhood was spent on the water. I guess that's what comes from having a dad in the Navy. Every year our summer...
Waterloo Sunset
It was a beautiful evening in London last night. The light was amazing (and it is a beautiful morning as well). I felt the need to get out and enjoy...
Making progress
My new flat has caused quite a bit of comment on the previous post; I am grateful for your thoughts and gratified by the interest! It's taking shape and here...
A blank canvas
But really what is on my mind at the moment is this. I am moving flat. Not very far; about 2 minutes up the road, to Queen Square... which will...
Flaming June
Do you ever have the feeling you're in the wrong place? I had made a vague plan to be in London for the weekend, but waking incredibly early on Saturday...
Drenched…
I hope you didn't get too drenched on your way to work this morning. London is soaking. For those of our readers overseas, I know we have a reputation for...
Evening Mist
Some photographs of the garden on a misty evening over at the fabulous new Gardenista website... brought to you by our friends at Remodelista. The post Evening Mist appeared first...
Jubilee Village!
It's pouring with rain, the valley is drenched, and we're all exhausted. But it's that happy sort of exhaustion that comes from knowing that you've just put on the best...
Jubilee Hall
What is that splash of vivid red I spied out of my bedroom window when I woke up early this morning? Hmm. I was not particularly thrilled that the black...
Happy times are here again
Of all the photos that have filled our papers and screens of the Queen, I can't help but love this one taken by Patrick Lichfield in 1971. Inspiration! The post...
Brilliant Grayson
Don't you love the cover of the new Royal Academy magazine by Grayson Perry? A wry and gentle commentary on the demographic, tastes and products of the RA's Summer Exhibition...
May evenings
Don't you love this time of year? And when summer finally arrived—with a brilliantly hot, sparkling week—the garden, like the countryside, burst into life. I've been missing Dorset so much...
It’s all in the details…
We know this to be true, don't we? The smallest details matter. This is as true of one of our architecture projects: the architrave around a door, or the design...
Worth a second look
It was rather nice to get recommendations, posted both here and on twitter, for the better-looking Moscow. Now I look forward to a next visit and some proper exploration. In...
Weird…
Just when you think you've seen enough weirdness to last a lifetime, Moscow would get weirder. Ruth, from the office, and I, went for a 36 hour trip to meet...
Keeping up to date…
"But you enjoy blogging" a friend said to me this evening. "Well I do, but it's hard to keep up when there's so much to blog about, and no time...
Behind the Scenes at the Theatre…
We're getting very excited about the exhibition of new works by Ed Kluz next week! Ed has kindly sent me a few photographs showing him at work in the Studio...
Lakeland meanderings
I am sitting writing this at the end of a fantastic day at the end of a fantastic week in the perfect lakes: an area that I have longed to...
Any colour so long as it’s black?
In case you hadn't noticed, I've got a bit of a thing for black tulips. Queen of the Night, Black Parrot, Black Hero. Well, to be honest, for all tulips...
Jubilee Jollies from Ben and Bridie
Over here at Ben P towers, we're obviously great supporters of The Royal Family in all their glory, as you will have learned from previous posts: Prince Philip chic, anyone?...
Easter garden
The garden's gone a bit bonkers in my absence in Scotland last weekend. I'm not sure if it is super-happy-exuberant or bordering on municipal authority flowerbed, but the tulips are...
Dreaming of Italy
I don't know what it is about Easter time and the fact that I'm sitting in my kitchen in Dorset FREEZING. What happened to the balmy spring? Hello?!? The post...
Timewashed in Scotland
I got back from Inverness on Monday night, after a fantastic, head-spinning day picking paint colours and making plans for the huge, romantic castle that I am beginning to help...
The Selby wants to be in your place…
Do you follow one of my favourite websites, The Selby is in your Place? I'm sure you already do, but if you don't, have a little browse. The post The...
A tale of two lives
One of the things which makes me happiest, I think, is being able to combine life in the country and in London. From time to time I get worried about...
Spring stirring
It's been a busy two days in the office and I haven't had time to post a few photographs since getting back from Dorset. It was a sparkling happy weekend...
Changing colours…
What's one of the most inspiring things you can do? Change your colours. As many of you know, we recently did a bit of a revamp in the shop, which...
London my beautiful city (2)
A little while ago, back last autumn, I took a walk across London on a sparkling October day. I called that post London, beautiful city. A moment when I, for...
Worth the wait…
I've been in Scotland, back up in the Moray Firth for a few very happy days working on our architectural project there - shaping the early development of a new...
We hope you like…
Our new look home page. The website elves (well, specifically, our brilliant web designer Joe Smalley) have been hard at work making a few tweaks which hopefully will make it...
Valley and Sea
It was the sort of day in Dorset that you dream of. We woke to clear, brilliant sunshine and after breakfast went down to the sea, for a walk on...
Would you like to join us?
Don't you love the perfect simplicity of this advertisement, which I found on a little browse around Google this morning? (And which came from a rather extraordinary, very simple, one...
Visual treats
A tiny bunch of flowers for the Sunday lunch table; will you look at how beautiful the crocus and snowdrops are? But what I really wanted to write about this...
Dorset, the beautiful
It was a beautiful weekend in Dorset. It feels like a little while since I've been at the Old Parsonage, and towards the end of last week we were getting...
David and Celia
What's on your coffee table right now? A few weeks ago my friend Will produced a ticket to the Hockney exhibition. It was interesting to see (noting, I have to...
Quiet days
Don't you love quiet weekends in London? If you are anything like me you anticipated the snowfall last night with a little hint of childlike excitement. Is it, perhaps, the...
Down Time
"A few people are worried you're working too hard" said the text message from my friend Ben. Hmmmm, I thought. Okay. They have a point. Except that if you're quite...
A tight fit
One of the advantages of living in the tiniest flat in London is that you don't have to go very far for things. I tumble out of bed early and...
Sean & Lisa Ohlenkamp
Did you see their animated bookshop posted by Simon Lewis over at all things considered? If not, I think you might love these films. The third really made me smile!...
Recording Britain
I've been travelling a little this week—two days in Scotland, on the Moray Firth, at the fantastic project we're about to get going on up there. As we were driving...
Getting ahead again
I heard on the radio yesterday morning that unless we have some serious rainfall, a drought is to be declared within weeks. You see? It doesn't rain nearly as much...
Getting ahead…
I was going to be helping Robin in the shop this weekend. We've been taking it all apart and putting everything back - repainting, fresh carpet, and a good New...
Drawings for a beloved wife
In this morning's Guardian, a beautiful series of drawings by Ronald Searle, who died last week, which he produced for his wife Monica in the 1970s while she suffered from...
Green Shoots stirring
I'm not a great one for New Year's resolutions. But I would like to start this New Year with a story. The post Green Shoots stirring appeared first on Ben...
Christmas Quiz Competition
....And the winners are:
The post Christmas Quiz Competition appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Christmas Alphabet, Christmas Quiz
It's been a beautiful day in Dorset. We went for drives in the Morris 1000. The sun is now setting along the valley. Maggie, Roland, Will and I have just...
Winter sunset
An extraordinary sky this evening, as drenching rain and storms cleared just at the close of the day. Then it was time for cake and mince pies by the fire...
E is for Emily Sutton
If you follow me on Twitter (and if you don't, which I would entirely understand, but might like to, you can here) you will have noticed that I've been particularly...
I don’t know about you…
But I've been baking. All those flipping "GET READY FOR CHRISTMAS NOW" Blogs to live up to. Yikes. How do they do it? Hang on... how do I do it?...
What to Look for in Winter
Earlier this morning, I was having a bit of a clean up. And came across this little book... Immediately I was propelled back 30 years or more. When I was...
Christmas Rose
I arrived in Dorset last night, late. I'm glad to say the AGA man had at last done what he needed to do, just in time for winter. The house...
By the fire with the FT
You can read my little blog for everyone's favourite newspaper here. Happy weekend...
The post By the fire with the FT appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Christmas Windows
What a fun night last night! All the shops were open for a bustling evening. Wine flowed and mince pies were consumed and it was great to say hello to...
Happy Christmas with love from the Street!
On Thursday 8th December, Lambs Conduit and Rugby Streets are hosting our very own Happy Christmas Street Party -where all the stores will be staying open late, offering seasonal goodies...
Morph
It was a weekend where one thing morphed into another. Rob, one of my colleagues, and I got back from one our of projects in Scotland late on Friday evening....
Happy days are here again
'I thought you said you wanted a leaf green Porsche?' said my brother Tim. 'I thought you wanted a Porsche' emailed my friend Paul when I told him. Yup—in a...
Crackers about Crackers…
So, what is tomorrow?
The post Crackers about Crackers… appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Happy Birthday… to me
Um, so I promised that we would get organised, and we did. My great friend Simon who takes all the brilliant photos for our shop very kindly snapped a few...
Blessed are the Printmakers
You may remember that last year I wrote about the Whittington Press. Yesterday afternoon I have spent the day with a remarkable new book that John and Rose Randle have...
Aftermath…
Just in case you were wondering what the kitchen looked like this morning... after a great great night for my 40th birthday party yesterday evening. The post Aftermath… appeared first...
Paint the town pink
For those of you that have followed this blog for a while, you may have guessed that I'm quite partial to pale pink. I'm thinking of my sitting room, which...
May we introduce….
Franco Falconetto, the comic author?
The post May we introduce…. appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
I wish I’d been in Oban…
Where, owing to a technical glitch, the half an hour-long fireworks display went off in the first minute. A 5th of November to remember. The post I wish I’d been...
My kind of afternoon…
It was a beautiful day yesterday in Dorset. My friend George is staying with his two boys, Wilfy and Barnaby. With a bit of help from George, they raked up...
The Desmond Guinnesses
A friend emailed me this morning with a copy of the Sunday Telegraph's '20 Best Interiors Blogs'. It turns out I'm number 4 on the list, goodness, I thought, how...
Melancholia
It was a grey weekend in Dorset. I returned to London this morning. Standing on the platform at Dorchester South at ten to seven (not nice), I did think to...
Oh, What a Lovely War…
I wonder if we are living in extraordinary times? Can I admit that events unfolding in Europe leave me scratching my head a bit—the beautiful sunshine we have had in...
London, beautiful city
'Your blog's getting really boring', a friend said to me the other day. 'Enough already with pictures of hills and your garden in Dorset'. I've got to admit - it's...
Autumn light
Doesn't the heatwave seem a while ago? Two weeks ago my good friends Alison, Julian and Charlotte were staying. We went for a remarkable walk across the hills (to pick...
The Jewel garden
I think it was Monty Don (who's book, The Complete Gardener, is one which is by my bedside a lot) who coined the phrase the Jewel garden. When I drove...
Cabinet of Curiosities 2011
The post Cabinet of Curiosities 2011 appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Autumn Parsonage
I drove down to Dorset late last night. It felt so good to be back at last. I woke to a morning of pouring rain, but this afternoon the clouds...
It’s not often…
...that you have a feeling that you have walked into a World of Interiors magazine. But I think the Villa Palagonia, in Bagheria, does it for me. Do you see...
Where are all the happy old guys?
Try as I might, and I've been looking out since I've been back, but I haven't seen a single happy, contented old guy, just hanging out with his friends, in...
Sicilian Baroque
It's quite strange being back in London; soft, green and damp. If I show you some photographs of Sicily, do you know what I mean? I don't think life is...
Tipografia Sicilia
A little while after arriving in Sicily, I realised one of the most amazing things I was seeing was typography. Everywhere. Beautiful street signs. Three dimensional shop signs. Art deco...
I’m sorry, but…
... I think it's time to get out rainy England for a few weeks. Can you believe this is summer in London? Someone asked me the other day who's going...
Symphony in Grey and Green
So, not Whistler's famous painting, but some photographs of Edinburgh—where I spent the weekend. Was I the only person in the city not there for the festival (oh dear, I've...
I didn’t think…
I'd ever need to post this photo in seriousness. I think some Londoners are going to need this spirit right now. Frankly, we're horrified by the scenes from the London...
Just in case…
...You were feeling a bit depressed by mindless violence in the London burbs tonight, you might enjoy this video for STA by Australian Film maker Rick Mereki, and staring Andrew...
High Summer in the Garden
I've had a crazy few weeks, really, and I don't think it's going to get any less crazy until I'm off to Italy (to stay at my friend Valentina's beautiful...
All I want for Christmas…
Is a Spencer Ivy Electric bicycle. Cute, no? Even if they go in for a rather eccentric type of male model. The post All I want for Christmas… appeared first...
Help! Where has your energy gone?
Do you remember my writing about the Energy Cafe? Well, I don't know if it was an evil reader of the blog or merely an opportunistic ne'er do well, but...
High Summer Suffolk coastal
I'm staying with my old friends Charles and Rachel for a couple of days, while I'm up here on the Suffolk coast taking photographs for a book that I'm writing...
Would you like to join us?
The very second posting on this blog was made what seems like a very long time ago, back in May 2009. How time flies! And I remembered that photograph when I...
Sunshine and showers at the seaside
It's been a strange weekend hasn't it? I don't know about you but I'm not really rating these summer storms very highly. My garden is blown and soaked to bits....
It’s hotter in London
Well, I know that right now it's sweltering in New York. Who would be there if you could help it? The post It’s hotter in London appeared first on Ben...
Stands the clock at ten to three?
It was only after I had taken this photograph that I was reminded of Rupert Brooke's poem, The Old Vicarage, Granchester.... one of those instances of English literature where the...
Farewell to an Old Face
I don't know about you, but I'm not quite sure what to make of the News of the World debacle. Good riddance the evil Murdoch empire, maybe? Sad that our...
Time to Escape
If Monday mornings are inclined to get you down, may I recommend your morning cup of coffee is accompanied by a 1968 copy of Vogue's Book of Houses, Gardens, People,...
Please don’t forget
That everyone is invited!
The post Please don’t forget appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Broad bean green
One of my favourite things about this time of year is walking out to the garden and picking broad beans before they are really ready. Pea sized beans somehow just...
Midsummer mist
I woke up very early this morning - my ears still ringing after a crazy, fantastic night of dancing until the small hours to the sounds of the brilliant Slipped Disc...
May we recommend…?
Potiche. Very, very silly, on the brink of bonkers. A little flawed. But a lot of fun.
The post May we recommend…? appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Getting your ducks in a row
Yesterday morning I suffered a terrible hangover - thanks to a good evening the night before with my friends Mo, Eyre & Sherbert, down the valley. I woke feeling grim...
Midsummer approaches
I find it hard to believe that in a week it is midsummer's eve. How the year is flying. Can you cope? The post Midsummer approaches appeared first on Ben...
Summer Party on the Block
The post Summer Party on the Block appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Without a doubt…
This is my favourite new website of 2011.
The post Without a doubt… appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
The High Line
It was back in 1999, or maybe 2000, when I was living in New York and working for a small firm of architects in the Meatpacking District, that we got...
The Dark Side…
We had supper at the weekend with my friends Jane and Edward Hurst, whose old house may be remembered by sharp-eyed readers of World of Interiors from December 2006. They...
Staying still
I'm longing to have a moment of staying still. Today - I'm off to a wedding of a very old friend, which is exciting; tomorrow - a trip back up...
Signs of the Times
It's been quite an exhausting week in the North, and I'm still waiting to unpack my camera when all our stuff gets delivered back down to London next week. So...
September to May
I was just leafing through some old photos from last year - looking for something else. I couldn't find the picture I was after (if you must know, of the...
High five
A slightly different sort of post this morning, but I couldn't help but smile when I watched this - taken by chance by a 24 year old Californian mum of...
Earl Grey or Builder’s?
To find out the answer to this and other vital questions, you can have a little look at the Telegraph Fashion pages: 'What is British style? Four experts have their...
Early morning
Why is it that gardens are at their most beautiful early in the morning or at dusk? Either way, here are a few shots from very early this morning. Shortly...
Zeitgeist
It's not all the time that I pay attention to the Google doodle. But I was very happy this morning to see that they are celebrating the 76th birthday of...
Pastorale
Having decided not to return to London tonight, I went for a run along the valley at sunset. The cows are back in the pasture and after a fleeting rain...
Spring Clean
Why a picture of my cleaning cupboard this weekend? Because Bridie and I have been having a bit of a spring clean of the website. We've slightly reorganised the Departments,...
A Room with a View
Yesterday was one of those sort of perfect days. A soft rain most of the day, at last; and after a bit of rushing around from one end of the...
News from the North
I have just returned from a couple of days looking at a new project in Scotland, where the Lowlands meet the Highlands in the wonderful country just to the east...
The necessities of solitude
A short blog for the FT How to Spend It can be found here...
The post The necessities of solitude appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Spring Green…
1st May. I love England in May at more than any other time, I think. There is something about the colour of the landscape, this first week of May, that...
Iris time
My first iris unfurled this evening. It's early days for the iris bed. But this gives me hope for the years to come! The post Iris time appeared first on...
Royal Wedding Village
Despite my usual cynicism, I haven't met a single person who didn't love the Royal wedding. Even people who thought they wouldn't. (I wasn't too hopeful myself). Here we are...
God Bless Grace
I was very happy to hear a little while ago that my friend Henry's niece, Grace, was going to be a royal bridesmaid. But who knew that young Grace van...
How to…
... enjoy it. You can read a little post for the Financial Times How to Spend it here, about the garden one evening this week. The post How to… appeared...
The Energy Cafe
It's a bit of a shame that my friend Mo is in Ethiopia for Easter (Happy Easter by the way), because I think she would have loved this little set...
Tulip Time 2…
One advantage of having too many tulips in the garden... is that you can have too many inside. A case of when too many is never enough. The post Tulip...
A week…
Is a long time in the garden. The wisteria is in flower, the copper beech in leaf. I'm not sure I can get over this weather. It's a bit scary....
Tulip time
It has been one of those weeks here at the Parsonage.... Not much to say, but a lot to look at! The post Tulip time appeared first on Ben Pentreath...
In the Pink
No, not my pink sitting room (which, for those who were wondering, I am really in love with). But, yes, I have been asked to give you a link to...
“It’s a fine line…
...between too much and not enough", as a friend of mine in New York used to say. So. I got back from Berlin and straight to work for a rather...
Old and New: Berlin Spring
Sorry (to regular readers) for not posting for a little while. Not just because we wanted to join Princess Anne in admiring her rowers... not only that... but also because...
Nineteenth Century Skyline
If The Prince of Wales had happened to find himself strolling across Waterloo Bridge yesterday morning, at about 6.15, I think he might have been quite happy. By a bizarre...
Spring sunshine
It has been a beautiful weekend down in Dorset. As a result, lots of things that I was meant to do haven't quite been done. But who wants to do...
January 1987
Would anyone like to help fill a gap? What is that obsessive compulsive pile of magazines in the landing outside my bedroom (see below....)? Yes, I have spent a bit...
I’m very scared…
I have just come back this evening from the St. Pancras Hotel - which opened today. Not being the sort of person with time on their hands to do the...
Roman Holiday
I have left my camera in Dorset. Which is a shame, because in the last week or so I've seen rather a lot of little scenes in London that might...
Signs of Spring
Did you realise the clocks change in three weekends time? No, I didn't think so.... (put a note in your diary for 27 March). The post Signs of Spring appeared...
Rhubarb crumble
Okay, I have a confession to make. The following photos are not garden grown rhubarb, although I did have a look in one of my forcers yesterday and I suppose...
Which came first?
For a few years now I've been enjoying the website of a young graphic artist called Kyle Bean who graduated from Brighton Uni in 2009 and within about 5 minutes...
Royal Wedding Chic
What is every best dressed kitchen wearing this March? A Francis Terry Royal Wedding tea towel. Who knew?
The post Royal Wedding Chic appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Hello, Cupcake
The other day I went for a cup of tea with my brother and sister in law, and was greeted by my youngest niece Daisy who had made quite an...
Dictator style…
I don't know if you, like us at Ben P towers, find events in the Middle East a little hard to keep up with. Talk about shifting sands. There is...
Prince Philip chic…
Move over, David Hicks. Talk to the hand, David Mlinaric. No, I am afraid without doubt that my new style icon is the Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke has of...
Weird….
What's the weirdest thing you've taken delivery of this week?
The post Weird…. appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Pink Spring
Have you noticed the mornings getting lighter, and the evenings longer? No? Well, I think they are. It's subtle, but signs that spring is on its way are here at...
Hello, Mr Happy
Well, it can only get better after Monday. As you probably all know, January 24th is officially the most depressing day of the year. (Well, actually there is some question...
Kitchen typography
Yesterday afternoon I was having a look at a couple of beautiful cookbooks I found at Bridport Old Books on Saturday. They prompted me to think how nice 1940s and...
Green shoots
It's probably a false promise of spring, but one couldn't help but be cheered by the day when I arrived in Dorset this morning. Opening up the shuttered house for...
Changing scenery
I suppose one of the best things about going on holiday, as I did with my best friend Valentina, to Italy, the day after Christmas, is having a new view...
Morning and Evening
A beautiful but freezing day. It is good to be curled up by the fire writing this. And even better this afternoon that the oil company - amazingly - brought...
Landscape under snow
I arrived in Dorset this afternoon to find a bleached, white, silent landscape... and felt I had entered a dream. Nothing moved in the valley. The village has been completely...
Helpful hints no. 39: Corner Fireplaces
Well it's not often that we get such a nice email as that from Anna, a New Yorker living in Berlin... commenting on snowy streets and my fireplace here in...
Happy Christmas with love from London!
Its been a beautiful day in London. Well, not if you were trying to fly home from Heathrow airport, like my neighbour Daniel. The post Happy Christmas with love from...
Planning a trip to the theatre…?
Student riots notwithstanding (yes, Bridie and I are quite happy with our shutters these days), I can't help feeling that there are better ways of driving down crowded Regent Street...
Winter sunshine
When the holiday pages in the paper promise winter sun, it is true that I sometimes dream of baking on some faraway island just now. But can I be honest?...
What is it about sport…
That leaves me completely uninterested? I do not think that I can have been alone in, um, not caring very much who gets the World Cup 2018 except to hope...
The World of Interiors
Today was a happy day. After a quick trip to Columbia market, a delicious lunch with my friends Ruth Andrew and Georgie (Georgie is our apron model). It was very...
Christmas early-bird special offer
Shortly arriving in store, 48" 3D flatscreens ideal for your Christmas viewing. Free glasses to all pensioners living within 5 miles of the shop. The post Christmas early-bird special offer...
Robinson in Ruins…
If you knew that I am the sort of person who loves a film like Notting Hill (I really do), or EVEN like Love Actually (yes, I secretly do), would...
Three Classicists strike again…
Do you remember our exhibition in May? And the film that went with it?
The post Three Classicists strike again… appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Winter evenings
Am I alone in being happy for winter afternoons drawing rapidly to dark evenings? The weekend has been wet, grey and cold. It was my birthday yesterday... a delicious dinner...
Just My Type…
What have I been doing all morning, when I should have been drawing? Lying in bed reading Just My Type, by Simon Garfield. I am not sure why it is,...
Two skies
Driving back across Eggardon Hill from Jane and Johnny Holland's, I had to stop a moment to drink in the view. Dorset at her best. The post Two skies appeared...
Autumn Mornings
I don't know about you, but I think there is something particularly amazing about Autumn this year. A year ago last weekend, I realise, I moved in to the house....
Through the Woods
I think it was Vita Sackville-West who wrote of 'autumn leaves moments' - those visceral times of such great pleasure - that we get from trampling through a pile of...
Home for lost Gnomes…
One of the more curious curiosities that Bridie gathered into the shop was a marvellous collection of Gnomes. At the end of the fortnight, they have all found new homes,...
The landscape around us
On Sunday, we went for a walk across the valley to Top Parts. I don't know that I have seen the air so clear, or the light so sharp on...
The perfect house
What a weekend. It's been a hectic few days - following the wonderful cabinet opening (more will follow in a day or two) I was down to Dorset... where I...
Curiouser and Curiouser!’, cried Alice….
Why is there a photograph of Camilla Shand and Captain Parker Bowles on the wesbite all of a sudden? No, not because we've turned into 'The Monarchy of Britain.com' (although...
Inspiration
Well, this post is called our Inspiration, but from time to time I wonder if it should just be renamed things we like? Last week was a slightly manic. I...
Border control…
A year goes quickly, and nowhere more so than in the garden. It's strange to think that I've been at the Parsonage for a year now... it seems about five...
The Cabinet of Curiosities awaits…
Have you noticed how busy Bridie has been recently? At strange times of the night I get short emails describing delirious and crazy schemes... and to be honest, I'm not...
Better looking brothers
With all the talk about those Milibands, and lurches to the left or who's getting ready to leave Britain, I'm reminded of that expression UK politics is celebrity for weird...
A star is born…
For a little while, Bridie and I have reluctantly admitted, in private, that the biggest attraction on Rugby Street these days was no longer the shop. No, not the latest...
Autumn windows
Autumn is in the air, isn't it? What a beautiful weekend it has been in London. Yesterday afternoon, after a morning of running very satisfying errands, I went for a...
Italians are better dressed
I'm sorry for not posting for a while. It's been a busy few weeks - architecture life is undergoing a bit of that autumn rush that always seems to happen...
Sneak preview…
On Tuesday, as you will know if you follow this blog, Bridie and I reopen the doors after what can only be described as a new term reorganisation. We've metaphorically...
A first harvest
This weekend I was meant to be working. Tomorrow morning, Monday, my client will find out that I haven't done the drawings that I promised to get down. Oh dear....
Simple pleasures, Part 2
A while ago, I seem to remember writing about the simple pleasure of a grapefruit. Thank you to those of you who sent Bridie and me pictures of your simple...
Late Summer days
Did you have a good bank holiday? It feels a long time ago... a busy week down in Dorset. The post Late Summer days appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration....
Signs of the Times
If you had been wandering down Rugby Street early on Sunday morning, you would have encountered a cheerful chap on a ladder, outside the shop, painting our new sign. Wayne...
I was just…
Looking at my holiday snaps. So, I know, the other night, I denied everyone photos of Sienese churches and misty hillsides (although I do have a few of those). Well...
Gli Anni di Cocktail di Gamberetto*
(*The Prawn Cocktail Years)
The post Gli Anni di Cocktail di Gamberetto* appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Now and then…
Next week, I'm very excited to be heading off to Italy for a couple of weeks with my best friend Valentina from New York. The post Now and then… appeared...
Dahliamania
Forget tulipomania. (well, at least until next spring). Tonight I picked the first dahlias.
The post Dahliamania appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
The view from here
It's perfect this evening. At the end of a pretty busy day, I've spent a couple of very quiet hours in the garden. The sun is setting with just a...
Evening and morning
Yesterday evening, I left London but not without taking a snap of my flat mate William's lilies... the new ephemeral attraction of Lambs Conduit Street. Pop by and look up...
Of Cabbages and Kings
Oh dear, I feel like I'm turning in to Sarah Raven. Basically, I love Sarah Raven, although I think it could be a finely balanced thing as to whether I...
Reddish for ever
This morning, I was driving to Dorset via a new site in Wiltshire. I got a little lost on my way down, and chanced upon the incredible valley west of...
Town & Country
Have you noticed something incredibly exciting arriving in London? I can't say I hate Boris, I can't say I love him - but I do love the new London bike...
Something old, something blue…
A little while ago, I found a sad old chair in a junk auction, falling to bits and covered in a revolting greasy chintz. Not very encouraging, but there was...
Heaven is a garden
What did you do for gay pride on this sunny Saturday?
The post Heaven is a garden appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Farewell, Leonie Highton
I saw a really old friend the other day for the first time in years. He was just off to the farewell party for Leonie Highton, associate editor at House...
Do you mind?
If I post a couple more pics of the valley and the veg patch, taken the other evening?
The post Do you mind? appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Contrasts at Mottisfont
It's been a busy couple of weeks... but a little while ago, on a beautiful June evening, I went with friends to Mottisfont. June is Rose month at Mottisfont, and...
Really Plain English…
I was sitting having my cup of coffee just now and was thinking a bit about kitchens. In the new age of modesty (sounds a bit friendlier than austerity, doesn't...
Evensong
Rain clouds rolled through the valley at the end of a hot day. At dusk, the sky cleared and I went for a short walk through the village. Here are...
Salad Days
It was a lovely weekend of friends down in Dorset, visits to Bridport Market, Forde Abbey, and lots of neighbours around for supper - where we enjoyed bowls of salad...
The Whittington Press
How nice to receive an email this morning from John and Rose Randle at the Whittington Press, announcing their handsomely designed new website, which you can link to here. It...
Midsummer chimneypiece
My friend George Saumarez Smith (who I did the RIBA drawings with - see the posting in May) sent me this photograph of his fireplace at home in Winchester saying...
Margery Street Estate
I went for a little walk up to Amwell Street this evening. What was this vision of English country house planting on the corner of Lloyd Baker Street and Farringdon...
Memory of a View…
Considering cities, as I just was, I had a long, happy think back about my years in New York. Too many friends and memories to write about just now, but...
In Praise of the City
I suddenly began to get a nasty feeling that the blog was all about a rural idyll. Believe me, if I lived in Dorset all the time, I would go...
Patterns in the Garden
It was strange to think that a few months ago my new veg patch was a field.
The post Patterns in the Garden appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
The King Penguins
I was thinking at the weekend about King Penguins. If you don't know these books, here are a few examples - ending with my very battered copy of Life in...
Cow Parsley and chives
Did everyone have a good bank holiday weekend?
The post Cow Parsley and chives appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
A pastoral moment
Earlier this week, at the end of a fairly exhausting few days of meetings at the end of a fairly exhausting month, I went for a little stroll through the...
And so to the Parsonage…
As if exhibitions, drawings, lectures and boring old work hasn't been enough.. what about the most important thing in my life right now? My veg patch! The post And so...
RIBA drawing day
A few days after our exhibition opening, George, Francis and I spent the day at the RIBA and drew a massive drawing on the wall. A little crazy, and a...
Too busy to write?
It's been a bit of a crazy month. For those of you who follow the blog (hello Bridie, and hello Bridie's mum!) you may have been wondering if we were...
When?
Is winter going to end? Bridie is off skiing, lucky her. For those of us left behind, I've put an easter display in the window but it all feels, well,...
Wide skies
Back to London from a quiet, happy weekend in Suffolk, near the coast. Life in Dorset (or indeed in London) makes one forget those wide skies and soft blue grey,...
French letters
What is it about those French? A little while ago, Bridie and I had a lovely weekend in Paris, looking for inspiration. We found it in many places, but for...
Getting ready in the garden…
We've been hard at work in the garden at the Old Parsonage... and last weekend it was time to bring in the muck! Ian and Denise, my lovely friends who...
A different view
I am having some chairs reupholstered. These chairs cost me £10 each. I don't know about you, but I think there's something a little wrong in the world when these...
Simple pleasures
The other day, I sliced a grapefruit in half for breakfast. Here it is. I don't know about you, but I found something so pleasing about that grapefruit, sitting on...
A steampunk moment…
I was recently chatting to my good friends the Hamilton clan, who are publishing the catalogue of a forthcoming exhibition of drawings at the RIBA that I am putting on...
Desperately seeking… seagrass
Am I alone in thinking Desperately seeking Susan is one of the great films of the 1980s? Look at Madonna, while she was still, well, charming... The post Desperately seeking…...
Spring stirring…
Just as the snow and pouring rain continue to make Bridie and me wonder why we don't shut the shop and go to the sunshine all winter long... a glimmer...
Will you be my….
I'm not a great one for sentiment or symbolic gestures but there is something about the shape of a heart that makes me come over all funny. I don't know...
Long dark days
Although Rugby Street, bizarrely, seems to have escaped the winter weather with little more than half an inch of snow, we have heard from time to time that the rest...
Ben Pentreath Ltd Christmas Window
I wanted to take some really atmospheric photographs of the shop Christmas window yesterday while it was snowing, but it was so freezing I couldn't concentrate and here is my...
Cabinet of Curiosities
For those of you who didn't make it to the innagural Ben Pentreath Ltd 'Cabinet of Curiosities', here are a few choice images to take inspiration from. The post Cabinet...
Christmas Shopping Evening Thursday 10th December
We'll be open for this, promise.
The post Christmas Shopping Evening Thursday 10th December appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Buy Nothing Day – Sorry – and thank you…
So, I have a confession to make. When Bridie and I decided to close the shop for International Buy Nothing Day, on Saturday... The post Buy Nothing Day – Sorry...
Rugby Street Thursday 26th November
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Christmas is coming…..
....and we have the perfect way to count down to the big day. The Victorian Advent Calendar!
The post Christmas is coming….. appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
Number 18 Rugby Street
On the 21st of September we had a rather special gathering at Ben Pentreath Ltd. It was the publication date for 'Timmy the Tug'. The post Number 18 Rugby Street...
The Old Parsonage…
I know there is a bit of a fan club out there for the Old Parsonage (hello Bridie's mum & Rob Rae!!!) so here before I go to sleep are...
A Cabinet of Glamour…
A fantastic balmy air last week on Rugby Street.... as the shop was transformed by Bridie into a magical and marvelous wunderkammer of delights. Here, as a little taster, is...
The Cabinet of Curiosities is opening!
The post The Cabinet of Curiosities is opening! appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
I know exactly where I’d rather be right now…
I love my job, but I have just spent the last couple of hours arranging and re-arranging the new stock of blankets Eleanor Pritchard has bought in, and at the...
Goodbye Summer…
I think we can all say that summer is slipping slowly away. The autumn leaves are turning down in Dorset. Lovely days of pouring rain here to stay in London....
The Rugby Street Film Club!
Here is a massive thanks to everyone who made our film night such a success - George and Sarah from Pyjama Pictures, Winston and Dr John the Camden sound engineers,...
Amelie on Rugby Street
What is that yellow poster on the corner of Rugby Street & Lambs Conduit?
The post Amelie on Rugby Street appeared first on Ben Pentreath Inspiration.
The Hone Museum
Recently, we installed a collection of Peter Hone plasters on the back wall of the shop. The outcome being far more impressively dramatic then we expected lead us to rename...
The Rugby Street Summer Party
A beautiful warm evening last Thursday, and a big thank you to everyone who came along to the shops and made for such a fun night! The post The Rugby...
A Lease of life
The still of evening; a quiet, soft pink sunset on the longest day of the year. At the end of a wonderful weekend, I have just spent an hour alone...
Attention All Stationery Enthusiasts!
Passers-by have been stopping in their tracks outside the new window display of Tessa Fantoni Photo Albums, Box Files and Magazine Boxes. Those who've then come in have been heard...
Dreaming of Alphabets
If you were wondering what is the same price as a family car, a lot more fun, and infinitely more beautiful, try this Alphabet tapestry by Peter Blake. The post...
Would you rather be on Eggardon Hill?
My best friends Jane and Johnny Holland have just embarked on an amazing project in the beautiful Dorset village of Powerstock. The post Would you rather be on Eggardon Hill?...
Our Window is Broken but not our Spirit
A little while ago, Bridie saw this photograph in the archive section of the Times Newspaper. The post Our Window is Broken but not our Spirit appeared first on Ben...
Can we possibly have enough of Elaine?
Due to popular demand we have extended the duration of Elaine’s photographic exhibiton for another fortnight; the closing date is now Saturday 30 May. The reception the work has been getting...
Desk Accessories for Pentreath & Hall
Covering our classic desk accessories in my collection of ‘Opus Sectile’ patterned papers made me think about how chic they would look printed onto leather and covering a beautiful collection...
Painted Rainbow Needlepoint cushions for Fine Cell Work
In 2018 I was inspired by the work of the nun pop artist Corita Kent and had some fun painting some simple bright rainbows. This coincided nicely with a meeting...
Production Manager Wanted
Bridie Hall is currently looking for a full time Production Manager. £27,000 – £30,000 per annum. Within this role the successful candidate will be required to produce and finish Bridie...
