Latest news with #HamptonCourt
New Paper
2 days ago
- Sport
- New Paper
Munich under Tornado Alert
Godolphin kept stoking up the flames fanning their dominant worldwide form with another Group 1 win, courtesy of Tornado Alert ($34) in the €155,000 (S$233,000) Bayerisches Zuchtrennen (2,000m) at Munich on July 27. The Blue Army - already successful with the likes of Rebel's Romance, Sovereignty, Ruling Court, Trawlerman, Ombudsman, in England and US in 2025 - was at the same time collecting their fifth win in the German time-honoured race popularly known as Grosser Dallmayr-Preis. Their veteran trainer Saeed bin Suroor is also no stranger to that German silverware, having won the 2001 edition with Kutub - winner of the Singapore Gold Cup the same year - and Benbatl in 2018. Interestingly, bin Suroor combined with Oisin Murphy on Benbatl, and repeated the feat with the four-time British champion jockey at his third hurrah. Murphy even began his post-victory interview in German saying "Ich liebe Deutschland" (I love Germany in German), stunning presenter Thorsten Castle, before continuing in English. "We were uncertain about the ground, but he's by Too Darn Hot, out of a Kingmambo mare," said Murphy. "He ran very well (sixth) in the Epsom Derby, he was second (Group 3 Hampton Court) at Royal Ascot, and today he came to Munich and he was brilliant." The light-hearted linguistic moment and momentous win were welcome distractions for Murphy, 29, from his recent drink-drive woes. Convicted of two similar breaches in 2022, he was this time found guilty of driving a car while over the legal alcohol limit last April. Murphy's car left the road and crashed into a tree in Berkshire, injuring a female passenger. While the Irish jockey was fined €70,000 and his driving licence was suspended for 20 months, his jockey's licence was spared by the British Horseracing Authority, albeit attached with new conditions, such as enhanced testing. manyan@
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Duchess Sophie's Easy, Breezy Summer Uniform Is a Floaty Floral Dress With Designer Espadrille Wedges
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The heat wave sweeping the U.K. has finally died down, but Duchess Sophie effortlessly delivered a master class in dressing for sweltering temps while still looking regal. Her solution? A colorful floral dress and comfy espadrille wedges. The Duchess of Edinburgh has been seen in numerous variations of the warm-weather uniform over the past month, and it's a formula that works for so many summer events. On Tuesday, July 1, Sophie attended the Hertfordshire School's Food & Farming Day, bringing back the bright blue dress she wore to Wimbledon in 2019. The short-sleeved Peter Pilotto style was perfect for a day outside with students, and she paired it with her favorite Penelope Chilvers "Valencia" wedges, as seen in photos shared by royal photographer Tim Rooke on X. View Deal View Deal Earlier in the week, she turned to royally approved British label Me+Em—a favorite of Princess Kate's—while attending the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival. Sophie's baby blue outfit was fitting for a flower show, with the duchess choosing the brand's "Wild Bloom" maxi dress with short sleeves, a keyhole neck and a pink and orange floral print. Once again, the Duchess of Edinburgh wore Penelope Chilvers espadrilles, walking through the festival in the brand's white leather Mary Jane wedges and carrying a summery crochet bag by Sophie Habsburg. And for an outing at a ballet school last week, the duchess wore a bright green maxi dress by Zimmerman. The loose wrap-style dress featured a white floral pattern, and what better to wear while watching dancers perform than a lace-up espadrille? Sophie wore—you guessed it—another pair of Penelope Chilvers wedges, repeating the same white peep-toe style she wore for an afternoon tea in Windsor last month. View Deal View Deal View Deal View Deal
The Sun
22-07-2025
- General
- The Sun
Wilko's 49p buy will keep out creepy crawlies as UK's ‘biggest spider' believed to be hiding in homes
NO ONE wants creepy crawlies invading their home but in the summer these little pests can slowly creep into your house. But we've got the perfect 49p buy that will keep out the UK's biggest spider that's believed to be hiding in your home. The Cardinal Spider 3 The UK has 650 different species of spiders, and the largest among them is the cardinal spider. Cardinal spiders, known internationally as Tegenaria Parietina, have been recorded to grow up to 14cm. Typically found in buildings or on walls, there is due to be more sightings of them in the upcoming weeks. All spiders can bite – that's how most subdue and kill their prey. But the Cardinal's small fangs will only render mild discomfort in a human. So there is no need to be fearful of these creatures - even if you don't like the look of them. What are Cardinal Spiders? The spider was allegedly called after Cardinal Wolsey who was terrified by the sight of the spiders at Hampton Court. Though the species is pretty rare in Europe, they're found more commonly in the south of England. Most of them live in buildings or walls, and like all spiders living in houses, they can withstand very dry conditions and survive for months without sustenance. The females are larger and can grow to a body length of up to 20 mm while males measure up to 17 mm. Giant huntsman spider lurking in his bunch of Aldi bananas Typically reddish brown in colour, but young Cardinal spiders can be much lighter, so taking that into account with it's size - easy to spot! However, their legs are about three times longer in length. How to deter them from your home 3 If you're looking for ways to keep the little guys at bay, there are plenty of spider-repelling plants to choose from that can help keep them away from your windows, doors, nooks, and crannies. Evie Lane, gardening expert at Primrose, pointed out that most of the plants out there that spiders hate have strong smells which, while not appealing to creepy crawlies, should smell great to you. There's a reason why allotment keepers have been putting marigolds next to their vegetable plants for generations. And Wilko's has packets of Marigold Petite Mixed Seed Packet on sale for only 49p - so it's a cheap, chemical free solution. These bright, friendly plants repel a swathe of pests including spiders and snails, so they come in handy both inside the home and out. Other plants that also help keep them at bay are Chrysanthemums, Eucalyptus, Lavender and Rosemary. Spiders also don't like mint, but you don't need mint plants all over your house for it to have an effect. You can also put some mint leaves in water in a spray bottle and after the leaves have had a chance to sit in the water a while, spray the entry points of your home. But to any who does come across any spiders in their houses, it's worth investing in a good, cruelty-free spider catcher, so you can send them on their way.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Keeping up with watering, picking and deadheading in the heatwave
Well, the sun lovers among you certainly don't have anything to complain about. We have had the second official heatwave of the year this week and it has again been a challenge to get much gardening done, apart from keeping up with watering, picking and deadheading. If, like me, you have taken all of your indoor plants outside to a shady spot for a summer holiday, you should see that they are really enjoying it. Mine definitely need less water outside and they seem to flourish in their little summer community, rubbing leaves with plants they don't see all winter, putting on new growth in the dappled sunlight and clearly enjoying the drop of liquid seaweed they get when I am feeding the other pots each week. Laura Strand Sam Stark-Kemp Hampton Court 2025 (Image: Norfolk School of Gardening) I have some clivia which were originally my great-grandfather's and must be nearly 100 years old. They have been passed down three generations already, divided and shared out between great-grandchildren. They have been much neglected and, in some cases, have not flowered for years, but the recent summer holiday regime clearly suits them and they now flower every summer under the shade of the wisteria and vine canopy. I was at RHS Hampton Court Flower Festival at the beginning of the week for the wonderfully exciting moment when two of our Diploma in Garden Design students, Laura Strand and Sam Stark-Kemp, were awarded a Gold Medal and Best City Pocket Planting for their Teucer Wilson: Green the Gap Garden. Certificate in Practical Horticulture revising pruning (Image: Norfolk School of Gardening) They have worked incredibly hard over the past days, weeks, months, putting together this design, sourcing plants and hard landscaping, as well as Teucer Wilson's beautiful sculptures at the same time as producing outstanding work for their diploma. The awards were well deserved, and we fully expect they will go on to be very successful designers in this part of the world and beyond. Laura and Joe Carey from Holt, outstanding designers and tutors on our diploma, scored their second Gold Medal of the season with the Alan Partridge Sound Bath Garden, after their success at Chelsea. Their beautiful planting and touches of Norfolk in the locally sourced larch fencing and the metalwork created by local craftsmen was interspersed with sculptural speakers and Alan's voice was to be heard throughout the garden. 100 year old Clivia on summer holiday (Image: Norfolk School of Gardening) The unusual combination of horticulture and humour was a really welcome innovation at an RHS flower show! Meanwhile, the Certificate in Practical Horticulture students were busy revising for their assessment and by the time you read this they will have completed their assessment, on, we hope, a slightly cooler day. And we had our last Advanced Practical Gardening session before the break. It is a really popular monthly course for experienced gardeners: get in touch if you would like more information. These are some of the first courses next term which have spaces available. Let us know if you'd like to join us: · Introduction to Garden Design – 11th September · Certificate in Practical Horticulture – 12th September · Advanced Practical Gardening – 17th September · Plants for Free – 24th September · Border Renovation – 1st October Digitalis ferruginea (Image: Norfolk School of Gardening) Plant of the Week Digitalis ferruginea is our second unusual foxglove and a favourite of ours. Pointed spires of slender, honey-coloured, tubular flowers, which Claire Austin says look like choir boys in full song! They are lined up on slim, closely packed spikes above a rosette of deep green, slender, evergreen leaves. This is a short-lived perennial foxglove, unlike most of its biennial relations and it has a striking, even exotic appearance, standing very erect right now in the borders. Digitalis ferruginea is easy to grow from seed and is one to impress and interest your neighbours and visitors. Contact us via or follow us on Instagram or Facebook.
Times
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Comedy gold garden is too Partridge by far for me
I didn't really understand why Alan Partridge had a garden at RHS Hampton Court. He doesn't actually exist but, far more importantly, he doesn't even like gardening. 'That's right,' grinned the helpful man from Audible at the garden, 'Alan says that his favourite thing about gardening is sitting and watching the gardener work!' That cleared up exactly zero. His 'interview' on the RHS website only explained why he wouldn't want a garden. 'When I think green fingers,' he says, 'I tend to think of people I'd rather not be bracketed with — Kermit the Frog, Incredible Hulk, or a chap I knew whose finger got infected when he trapped it in a drawer hiding something from his wife.' Still, Alan is all over 'his' garden, with its path through 'Norfolk-inspired' trees and perennial planting interrupted by large pipes with Alan's face on them. 'It's a sound bath!' chirped another Audible helper. 'Do you want to come in?' It was so hot that what I really wanted to do was lie down. Now Alan himself (via the pipe) was inviting me too: 'Go ahead, join me, for an intimate aural bath.' His voice oozed over the planting and not in a healthy way. Reader, I had to flee. Apparently, all of this is in aid of his podcast. The garden won a gold. Alan won't be proud. It was absolutely scorchio on Monday at Hampton Court and, in the afternoon, at the very hottest point of what felt like the hottest day of the year, a small group of VIPs gathered in a heat haze in front of the giant flower-clad RHS sign. Two important looking cars arrived. It was either royalty or Mary Berry (almost the same thing). It was Sophie, as everyone seems to call the Duchess of Edinburgh, who looked cool, calm and collected. She went off to admire the roses and then inspected the temperate rainforest garden. She still looked entirely unbothered by the heat. Impressive, frankly. Who would have thought, decades ago, that Edward and Sophie would be such hard-working royals? I was on a bus, going through King's Cross, when I saw the protesters crowded on to the pavement. 'Boycott cashless!' said the yellow signs, 'Cash is freedom'. Lorries honked in support. Some of the placards displayed signs of paranoia. Are 'they' really planning a digital surveillance state? Why would 'they' go to all that trouble when our phones, banks, apps follow our every move anyway? But I do think that cash is king, actually. Real money, in your hand, feels different from tapping a bank card. Out of London, lots of businesses prefer it. Then there's the tooth fairy, who doesn't deal in cards either. I am writing this on American Independence Day and, by happy coincidence, because I am making myself peruse the books I am about to declutter, I have been reading Signing Their Lives Away, about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence. There were 56 of them, though most people, including Americans, would only be able to name four (Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Hancock). And, no, since you ask, George Washington didn't sign, though Josiah Bartlett (immortalised in The West Wing) did. Each of the 56 is introduced with a tagline along the lines of 'the signer everyone loved to hate' or 'the signer who slept in caves'. Then there was poor John Morton who was 'the first signer to die'. Not sure that's much of an accomplishment. The book is now too good to declutter.
