Latest news with #NeilMarriott
Arab Times
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
Scars remain on Failaka Isle: Col Marriot
KUWAIT CITY, Aug 2: Defense Attaché at the British Embassy in Kuwait Naval Staff Colonel Neil Marriott affirmed that the memory of the brutal Iraqi invasion of Kuwait will remain etched in history. He revealed that his recent visit to Failaka Island was a moment of reflection on the scars of that dark era, still visible on the island. In a video clip posted on his Instagram account, Marriott said Failaka Island 'tells a powerful story about the resilience of Kuwaitis who refused to surrender to aggression. I saw destroyed tanks and armored vehicles left behind after the invasion – a painful reminder of the violence and devastation that the country experienced at the time.' He walked among the ruins of homes, whose walls tell painful tales of loss. He visited the old Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East building, whose walls were pierced by bullets from inside and outside. He saw the destroyed fire station, the burned cooperative society, and the teachers' residences, which, in turn, tell another story of pain. He added, 'Every corner of the island speaks of an unfulfilled dream.' He stated that 'Kuwait remained steadfast, with its leadership, government and people standing united in the face of aggression.' He confirmed that the United Kingdom supported Kuwait at the time by contributing more than 52,000 troops, along with tanks, ships, and aircraft, in defense of its sovereignty and freedom. He concluded his remarks with a moving message: 'To the martyrs of Kuwait, your sacrifice will remain an inextinguishable beacon. To Kuwait, your dignity is engraved in the memory of generations ... unforgettable and untouchable.'
ABC News
01-08-2025
- ABC News
Neil and Wendy Marriott
We visit horticulturists and conservationists Neil and Wendy Marriott, whose property near the Grampians has become a living collection of stunning native plants, and a sanctuary for its local wildlife. Describing his hilltop home in the Black Range, Neil says, 'It's just like stepping back into a wild, sort of a bushland area, but with gardens dotted through it.' 'It's a wild garden; it was designed for habitat,' adds Wendy. Neil has written or co-written several books on grassland plants and Grevillea and is regarded as a leading expert on Grevilleas. They both work as environmental consultants, surveying the flora found growing on properties, both weeds and native. Their property, called Panrock Ridge, covers 200 acres of heathy and grassy woodland. As well as many indigenous plants to the area, they have planted huge collections of hakeas, grevilleas, dryandras, and banksias on the property. Neil's main passion is grevilleas – he loves their diversity, with every form from groundcovers to trees and in between. The Marriotts have about 350 species and subspecies growing, including unusual forms such as Grevillea vestita 'Mulberry Midnight', which is a WA plant that no longer exists in the wild. A nursery-owning friend found it and took cuttings, which resulted in the plants Neil has, but when she revisited the site, it had been bulldozed for a housing estate. Zig Zag grevillea is also very rare in the wild, only found in one reserve near Perth, but it loves the granite outcrop at the Marriotts and is happily self-seeding there, so there are possibly more plants there than in the wild. Growing up, Neil wasn't very interested in plants but like birdwatching, and soon realised that the birds were attracted to the many Grevilleas and Banksias in his father's garden, so his interest grew from there. More than two thirds of all Grevilleas are found in WA and the Marriotts have made many trips hunting for them. The Christmas Grevillea is another stunning WA species, with very spiky, holly-like leaves. It is now almost fully confined to roadsides in the southern wheatbelt. A while ago, there were discussions about including Hakeas in the Grevillea genus, so Neil started collecting them too. Of the 175 known Hakea species, he now has about 165 growing at Panrock. The best way to tell the difference between the two is the seed pods; hakea seedpods are hard and woody, while grevilleas have a thin, leathery cover. Both include just two seeds. The land was formerly a farm and fully cleared when they moved in – many friends thought they were mad moving there. The soil is free-draining granite but there is sticky clay underneath so some beds have still needed to be raised up. The whole garden was burnt out in the 2006 bushfires but most plants recovered well and there are still seedlings popping up. Wendy says that Neil was devastated by the damage of the fires so they built a new garden, focusing on Verticordias, and mulched the area with white gravel to contrast with the black land around them. Wendy and Neil have enclosed 20 acres with a predator-proof fence, so that any animals inside that are protected from everything except birds of prey. There is a conservation covenant on the land that will protect the land after they move on. Grevillea vestita 'Mulberry Midnight' ZIGZAG GREVILLEA Grevillea flexuosa Grevillea fastigiata CHRISTMAS GREVILLEA Grevillea insignis subsp. insignis Hakea marginata Hakea pritzelii Hakea varia CRICKET BALL HAKEA Hakea platysperma BROOM HAKEA Hakea scoparia
