Tuesday 15 September '09

Paddy Fields Forever

It Grows

One area of considerable satisfaction from the past year are the terraced fields orginally laid out by the Japanese farmers in 2006. Over the past 3 years we have been developing what was totally impossible soil that would sustain nothing more than bracken and grass. Through a process of mulching and green nmanure we have now got two fields working successfully as vegetable plots - the only challenge now is getting people to eat the vegetables we have produced - it is difficult to restrict a 21st century diet to 4 or 5 vegetables, people are just not used to it. The honesty stall has comments on it's notice board asking for more fruit, like so much in the world 'they just don't get it'. 

Posted by Adam Sutherland on 15/09/09 at 09:28 1 Comment

Topics: 'paddy fields' 'vegetables'

Wednesday 9 September '09

Depressing innit?

On last night's telly, following Jamie Oliver in the culinary desert that is the USA, we heard these immortal words as he squeezed into chaps in a rain shower:

"It's like the Lake District, really depressing"

Posted by Karen Guthrie on 09/09/09 at 20:23 0 Comments

Tuesday 18 August '09

Folk Float on the streets of London

Pic c/o public works

The Folk Float produced by public works for Creative Egremont (a public art programme we managed) is out and about in central London - great to see after too long in the garage!

See www.diyregeneration.net for more on the project

Posted by Karen Guthrie on 18/08/09 at 13:10 1 Comment

Friday 14 August '09

Youtube uploads

Re-live on video - or catch if you didn't first time - Sir Nicholas Serota's praise for Lawson Park, given in his launch speech in June.

Posted by Karen Guthrie on 14/08/09 at 14:57 0 Comments

Tuesday 28 July '09

Matt & Ross do the Penguin Donkey

Dog Elephant Castle

Matt (currently at Lawson Park) and Ross are doing a show at Elephant and Castle, it's called 'Together at the Junction', well that's the name the curators jottaCONTEMPORARY have given it. it brings together a group of artists to do stuff about the old shopping precinct in the run up to it's demolition, the once cool modernist building having fallen into 'varied' use and had the indignity of being painted pink may want to be put out of it's misery but there's a few years more to go and I suspect some further indignities to suffer.

Matt and Ross have run with the idea of the journey and the transformations that we go through in making them. They have taken the various versions of the Penguin Donkey - originally design in 1936 subsequently reworked in the 60's and further transformed more recently for Lawson Park. The artists have added further additions layering the original yet further and presented the beasts as a parade. They've also made a vast amount of Kendal Mint Cake.

Go and see/taste it at Unit 316 Lower Ground Floor, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre 30th July to 2nd August, 12 - 6pm the opening is on Wednesday night 6 - 9pm for a more party feel

for more information try www.jotta.com 

Posted by Adam Sutherland on 28/07/09 at 02:02

Topics: 'corsica studios' 'Elephant Rooms' 'Penguin Donkey'

Monday 27 July '09

NGS Open Garden - Phew!

A swathe of annuals and wildflowers frames Lawson Park

A big thanks to all who braved the rain to work at or visit the charity open garden held yesterday for the National Garden Scheme - especially Julie, Meg, Matt, Sophie, Alison & Joe & family, David and Chris.

Sadly the weather had a big impact on visitor numbers compared to last year's 200-odd, but as the third launch we've done here this summer the odds were against us for three sunny days on demand.....

One of the garden's star performers was a very simple but stunning carpet of annuals flowering just 8 weeks after sowing, right outside the hostel. By popular demand, here's  a link to the Pictorial Meadows online shop, where the 'Candy' flower seed mix we used (see pic) can be bought.

Posted by Karen Guthrie on 27/07/09 at 11:14 0 Comments

Saturday 25 July '09

NGS Open Garden Day at Lawson Park - Sunday 26th July 12- 6pm

The gardens are again open under the NGS scheme, Karen's sister Alison has arrived to make her unbelievably good cakes and the masses of children are weeding the garden to death. We are also happy to have Chris Cavalier from Somewhere's What Will the Harvest Be? project at Abbey Gardens in London working with us over the weekend.

Visit the NGS website here 

NB No visitor car access to site, please walk or use our shuttle minibus from Machell's Coppice on East of Lake road.

Posted by Adam Sutherland on 25/07/09 at 12:40 0 Comments

Saturday 27 June '09

The Big Day!

Eric Robson's opening speech

The broadcaster & Cumbria Tourism chair launches the new HQ at Lawson Park June 25th 2009

Director Adam Sutherland with guest Eric Robson

Intern Matt tries the delicious nosh

What a day - many hands made light work! Great food c/o Alistair's mother-in-law, great flowers c/o Meg and a very good speech from Mr Robson, bringing together Ruskin, Grizedale and land use very neatly indeed.

And saying the gardens were "superb" too (!)

Phew - now onto the 10th and the art crowd....

Posted by Karen Guthrie on 27/06/09 at 21:28

Topics: 'celebration' 'launch' 'lawson park'

Thursday 25 June '09

24 hrs to go!

Matt wrestles with light

Meg, high on housework

Web guy Dorian in the library

The scene at Lawson Park as we ready it for its local launch today, many thanks to volunteer Meg Falconer who really put in the hours, as did web guru Dorian Moore and interns Sophie Perry and Matt Do...

Posted by Karen Guthrie on 25/06/09 at 12:42 0 Comments

Friday 19 June '09

No sleep till Coniston

Escapism on Hackney's No.25 bus

Posted by Karen Guthrie on 19/06/09 at 22:34