Fame at last and a Farewell ....

It's on the TV this week!

You may remember me quacking on about the really exciting weekend in August when we had a big BBC team here filming for a new series called “Paul Martin’s Handmade Revolution”.  They have now made a series of 10 programs, half filmed half at the Jinney Ring and half at Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre in West Sussex.   It was a very interesting weekend, both learning about filming and seeing all the arts and crafts.  Many of our own crafts people were involved alongside others who came in for the event.  Now we hear that the series is being aired on BBC 2  this week and the week after, each weekday at 3:45pm (first one is on the 8^th Oct), those who have seen it say we ducks are getting really good coverage -- Fame at last!  We do hope some of you get a chance to watch it then, or perhaps on i-player later.   My crested duck friend has been a real "diva-duck" this week since he heard he is a star!

Needs his own dressing room now!

Another update on news earlier in this diary - we had a farewell visit from Lola today - Lola is a black Labrador who was designated by the Guide dogs for the Blind charity to be a brood bitch.  She came to visit with her handler Linda earlier in the year.  It now turns out that some of Lola's relatives have developed a skin disorder, so she is no longer considered suitable for breeding.  Happily, she is not at all down in the dumps - she is now off for proper guide dog training and will hopefully be a guide for someone in need.  Marley, the other Labrador who was with her earlier in the year is already progressing well through his training we here so she has some catching up to do.  We now we have a new 'friend' with the introduction of Connie who will stay with Linda to replace Lola.  Connie does not seem to be familiar with cows, horses or ducks so is having great fun meeting us all! 

A fond farewell to Lola - good luck with the guiding!

New Girl Connie - very interested!

End of the Trail!

Lots of animals and  related activities around the gardens

The annual sculpture trail finished on Sunday with the charity day for the Cinnamon Trust (Animal R Magic). It was such a shame that the weather did not hold from the glorious day on Saturday, so everyone got a bit wet as the day progressed.  We were however surprised and delighted at just how many people came out to support the event, despite the conditions and especially the children that enjoyed the pony rides (from Julie Thomas Equestrian ) in the pouring rain!

As well as wet horses and dogs we also had Alpaccas (Simply Alpacca from Alcester) in the garden - what lovely creatures they are, they were quite the stars of the show and the products made from their wool were lovely.

The Cinnamon Trust raised £460 from the day so were very pleased and delighted with the support.

Talking of charities - the month long sculpture trail also raised £360 for West Midlands Search and Rescue with the raffle for a lovely piece of sculpture made by one of this years most popular artists Steve Blaylock.
Mark Rogers from the charity drew the winning tickets late afternoon on the 23rd September and the first prize winner came to collect her prize today - she was thrilled!

Mark drawing the raffle.

Winning the Bulrush with dragon flies.

We are now wandering around the garden watching Mick and Carolyn taking all the sculptures away and emptying the garden - it feels a bit anticlimactic at the moment but the mud in the garden is giving us plenty to do -- lots of dabbling ahead this week based on the forecast!  For those that missed the trail  - there are some photos on the website http://www.jinneyring.co.uk/acatalog/Previous-Years-Sculpture-Trails.html

Blooming success!

Gardeners Chris Evans (seen below) and Jean Hubball were so excited this week .... one of their variegated Yucca plants is shooting a bloom and will be in flower very soon now - they are excited because this is an event that happens at the most every 7 years with this plant.    We ducks have been 'warned' not to go near the plant, as it so spiky I don't think this will be a problem!

Chris Evans with the Yucca

It was a very busy weekend in the garden with lovely weather on Saturday making it a perfect setting for pre-dinner reception drinks when David and Svetlana to celebrate their marriage with their close friends and family.   After a wander around our sculpture trail with their drinks and canapés they had a lovely relaxed meal in our meeting room overlooking the ponds.  The room was decorated to suit the occasion with flowers too.  It was a lovely celebration for all - we even got fed by the guests and the horses in the field got lots of petting from the 3 children.

This year's sculpture trail is also proving a great 'success' - lots more people here viewing this weekend and huge appreciation for the artworks around the gardens.  Even the children are enjoying it with more pictures in the spider chair!

Jacob - looks quite relaxed with a spider near his head!

Fearless Freya!

The trail finishes this Sunday (23rd) with live animals joining us in the gardens for a charity day Animals R Magic!

Romantic Tale

Yesterday was a bit blowy in the gardens, particularly about lunchtime when Bride and Groom Dorothy and Jeff arrived for their intimate wedding reception.  The good news was that the drizzle cleared up for a while and they were all able to go into the garden and have their photos taken around this year's Sculpture trail.

Dorothy seen in centre with her bridesmaid.

It turns out that Jinney Ring is quite an important place to Dorothy and Jeff.  They met here on their first date, then, some time later, Jeff got down on one knee and proposed to Dorothy in the gardens here and now they have come here to celebrate their marriage with their respective families.

The wedding party decorated the meeting room next to the restaurant with their own hand made felt bunting and and pink and cream flowers - it all looked lovely.  They had a farmhouse menu including our famous Steak and Ale pie and Salmon in White Wine sauce finished with a trio of desserts, a menu you to suit their party and their own individual style.

The meeting room fits two tables all decorated

The best bit of the day was that we ducks were included in their planning, the Bride made sure that she and the children all had a bag of duck food for us - so we celebrated too!  We wish them every "quackiness" for the future and look forward to seeing them on many anniversaries to come.

Scary Spiders

There are a lot more spiders in our gardens at the moment than are normal at this time of year -- and they are big!

Steve Webb (very aptly named) is one of this years artists exhibiting in the annual scultpure trail and he obviously has a fascination with our Arachnid friends - we are not sure if it is a love or a hate relationship!

There are small spiders, medium spiders and huge spiders - some of them hanging from the trees and some working their way across the grass as seen below ...

There is also a Spider chair which the children love sitting in to have their photos taken.

Honey and Eleanor were difficult to scare!

Children are also enjoying the activity pack/competition around the trail and we have had some terrific colouring and shapes.

The Spiders represent just part of an extensive trail with over 100 pieces in the gardens.  It finishes on 23rd September.  

Sculpture Trail in the Gardens

There seem to be animals everywhere in the 2012 Sculpture Trail around the ponds and gardens here.   The Trail opened on Saturday 25th August just in time for the bank holiday and the JR team worked really hard to place the almost 80 pieces of art in the best locations, this included one in OUR pond!  Carolyn and her team have also set up the marquee area like a "fete" with bunting and bails of straw. There is lots going on in the tent too - children's activities as well as the chance to win on of two sculptures donated by artist Steve Blaylock.  (Charity Prize Draw).

We have some amazing 'critters' keeping us company for the month, even if they are not very communicative, they are certainly creating quite a stir with the visitors.

Happy as a pig in clover!  There is a cow, dog and a fish too... 

There are other non animal things as well - some fantastic items, dragonflies, glass, lilies etc, plenty to see.  Of course, being in the Jinney Ring gardens there are a lot of other birds too.

Magnificent pheasants - you need to see these close up

Mosaic Duck

The SculptureTrail is on every day until 23rd September when it finishes with a charity event "Animals R Magic".  Free entry and we would love to see you all  -  Just remember we are the only ducks that need feeding though!

TV Stars!

How many Ducks get a chance to be a star on the TV (besides Daffy of course) ?  Well, we hope we will be some of the minority, we were certainly filmed quite a bit yesterday when "Paul Martin's Handmade Revolution" was filmed in our gardens.

There were a number of craft stalls set up with Mosaic, Millinery and Corsage Making in the middle of the lawn - lots of people came along to have a go.  Alongside the bottom pond there were some really talented "makers" being filmed by the crews - they were all part of a competition that is running in the new show.  At the end of the site our potters were running the visually interesting Raku pottery process, with lots of fire and smoke. Besides this the TV crews were in and out of the Jinney Ring craft workshops with Paul Martin discussing their various processes and products -- all very exciting !

Filming table with one of the contestants

Paul Martin filming on the move

It was a lovely day with tonnes of creativity and we had lots of corn too -- rumour has it the new show will be televised in October on BBC 2  -- do look out for us, we may not be able to give autographs, but we are happy to be photographed with all our fans!

Where is that camera......?

A couple of the participants in the show also brought some wonderful pieces of art which will stay here for a while as part of our 2012 Sculpture Trail - we do like seeing the art close up in the gardens.  The sculpture trail opens next Saturday and runs for a month.

All photographs above were taken by Olivia Holloway, many thanks.