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CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Man accused of killing, dismembering 2 people north of Toronto
Social Sharing Police north of Toronto have arrested a man after they say two people were killed and dismembered. Barrie police say they began an investigation earlier this year after a report of a missing person. They say officers searched several locations including a property in Huntsville, Ont., a residence in North Simcoe County and a wooded area in Barrie where a large homeless encampment is located. A suspect who was initially arrested in early August is facing new charges after police gathered evidence that included human remains and interviewed witnesses relating to the two deaths. The victims have been identified as 45-year-old William (Blake) Robinson and 41-year-old David Cheesequay. A 52-year-old man has been charged with a list of offences including first- and second-degree murder and two counts of indignity to a dead body. The suspect is also accused of firearms and drug trafficking offences along with theft. He remains in custody and has a bail hearing scheduled for Friday.
Time of India
10-08-2025
- General
- Time of India
Unsung legacy of school that shaped icons
In the 1830s and 1840s, education in Assam was undergoing a transition from traditional indigenous systems to a more westernised model introduced by the British. After Assam's annexation through the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826, the British found the existing system inadequate for their administrative needs, as it did not produce an English-educated local workforce. Until then, education was largely informal and centred around Sanskrit tols (traditional centres run by Brahmin scholars), satras (Vaishnava monasteries), and village namghars (community prayer halls). These institutions focused on Sanskrit grammar, religious texts, philosophy, music, art, and crafts. Education was generally reserved for Brahmin, royal, and upper-caste families, with little access for the wider population. During the 1830s and 1840s, a few British officers, including Francis Jenkins, advocated for state responsibility in education and proposed the establishment of English-medium schools under European supervision in major centres — Guwahati, Sibsagar, Goalpara, Nowgong, Darrang, and Bishwanath. This led to the founding of Assam's first school, Gauhati High School, in 1835. In the following years, schools were opened in Durrung (now Darrang) and Nowgong (Nagaon) to impart English education. William Robinson, inspector of govt schools in Assam and later headmaster of Gauhati Seminary (Gauhati High School) in 1838, described the deplorable state of education in his 1841 work, "A Descriptive Account of Assam". Besides the Gauhati Seminary and schools in Nowgong and Durrung, Robinson mentioned the existence of no fewer than 20 mofussil vernacular schools, supported by the govt and managed by the collector in the then undivided Kamrup district. Amid this transition, a mofussil vernacular school — Latasil Primary School — was established in 1849 at Latasil in Guwahati, likely by local Assamese residents. "No written history of the school's early phase exists today. It would have been a great contribution if those involved in its founding had preserved its history in written form," said Jangannath Das, who studied there in the late 1960s. Das said Jnanpith award-winning novelist Mamoni Raisom Goswami (Original name: Indira Goswami), who played a key role in mediating between the central govt and the militant outfit Ulfa-I during the Assam peace process in the mid-2000s, studied in the school. So did members of the illustrious Baruah family of Latasil, which includes filmmaker-actor-musician Brajen Baruah, singer-composer Ramen Baruah, filmmaker Dibon Baruah, singer Dwipen Baruah, and multi-talented artist Nip Barua. Cricketer-pilot-politician Girin Barua and radio broadcaster Niren Barua also hail from this family, contributing significantly to their respective fields. Current headmistress Dharitri Goswami said noted educationist Lakhyadhar Choudhury, who served as education minister in CM Golap Borbora cabinet in 1977, was also an alumnus. Freedom fighter Hareswar Goswami (born in 1918) studied at the school before joining Cotton Collegiate for further education. Das said while these prominent personalities once glorified the institution, its prestige has waned over the past couple of decades. "Now, the school has lost its glory for various reasons, which is a matter of concern. Hardly anyone outside Latasil knows about this 176-year-old primary school," he said. He added that the school has witnessed several historical events, including both World Wars, the creation of Assam as a separate province in 1874, and the visit of British liberal statesman Lord Northbrook (Thomas George Baring) in the same year. "Although British allied forces occupied many educational institutions during World War II, there is no evidence of such impact on Latasil Primary School, likely because it was a very small institution at the time," Das added. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Raksha Bandhan wishes , messages and quotes !
Times
09-07-2025
- Times
Ten luxury hotels with glorious gardens
'When English gardening was mostly represented by the bedding system, with its wearisome repetitions and garish colouring, Mr William Robinson chose to make better known the treasures that were lying neglected.' So wrote Gertrude Jekyll of the Irish gardener who is credited with popularising the cult of the English cottage garden, championing hardy native species and naturalistic planting and paving the way for the great drifts of wild flowers that are so in vogue today. Born in Ireland, Robinson moved to England in 1861 and worked for the Royal Botanic Society's Gardens in Regent's Park before founding an influential journal, The Garden, and writing the bestsellers The Wild Garden and The English Flower Garden. From 1884, as the owner of Gravetye Manor in Sussex, he was able to put his revolutionary ideas into practice, recording his journey in Twenty Years' Work round an Old Manor House, republished last year with a foreword by Gravetye's head gardener, Tom Coward (Rizzoli, £60). Luckily for us, Robinson's gardens can today be visited. Even better, they are now part of a gracious hotel that turns the garden's edibles into Michelin-starred food. Nor is Gravetye Manor the only luxury hotel with an exceptional garden from which ingredients are picked. Here are ten of Britain's loveliest. Among the highlights of Gravetye's 35-acre gardens is the flower garden with its mixed border of year-round colour. Those staying in the 17 classically styled rooms and suites, or dining in the glass-fronted restaurant, can take a tour or explore the wildflower meadows and 1,000 acres of woodland. The restaurant and 'Holly' bedroom have beautiful hand-painted panels by the French artist Claire Basler. Garden to table: The unique 1.5-acre elliptical walled garden, peach house and extensive orchards grow much of the produce used in the Michelin-starred kitchen, run since April by the Roux scholarship-holding chef Martin Carabott. B&B doubles from £405; three-course lunch from £80, The arts and crafts garden designer Rosemary Verey was known for turning the potager into a thing of beauty so her former home and garden were a shoo-in for the stylish Pig hotel group with a focus on locally and home-grown produce. The 17th-century, Grade II-listed former rectory houses six country-chic rooms, with a further seven in the Stable Yard and 11 set between the laburnum walk, knot gardens, many-layered flower beds and magical views to the to table: The kitchen garden is at the heart of the hotel's seasonal 25-mile menuDoubles from £415; two-course lunch from £28, Raymond Blanc has long been a champion of all things local, seasonal and sustainable and the restaurant at this 32-room historic manor house — which has held on to its two Michelin stars for an astonishing 40 years — is rooted in the 27 acres that surround it. The 11 gardens also include a wildflower, water and Japanese garden. Courses in edible gardens and apple pressing are to table: Organic produce from the hotel's two acres of kitchen gardens and 2,500 fruit trees resurface in outstanding food and from £955 b&b lunch from £150, At the heart of this 2,000-acre estate is a baroque maze of espaliered apple trees called the Parabola. Around it unfurl 30 acres of colour, cottage and other gardens — reimagined by the Italian-French designer Patrice Taravella from designs by Penelope Hobhouse and Nori and Sandra Pope — which in turn are surrounded by 65 acres of apple orchards and swathes of ancient woodland. Tours are available for guests and members. Garden to table: Produce from the one-acre kitchen garden and 20-plus acres of market garden are showcased in the Garden Café, Botanical Rooms (at the 23-room Hadspen House) and Kitchen at the 17-room Farmyard, ten minutes away by bike or buggy.B&B doubles from £785; two-course lunch at the Garden Café from £27, Gertrude Jekyll was a leading light of Victorian garden design, world-famous for working with the arts and crafts architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. Her Italian gardens at this Scottish baronial castle are the centrepiece of the 110 acres of manicured grounds, woodland and several champion trees. It's all set in a Unesco biosphere, with views over the Firth of Clyde to Ailsa Craig. Garden to table: Guests staying in the 21 traditional rooms and suites can enjoy dinner, Sunday lunch and tea at the Azalea, a magnificent Moncur & McKenzie glasshouse in the walled kitchen garden, overlooking the azalea pond.B&B doubles from £625; three-course dinner at the Azalea from £58, The Chelsea Gold medallist Jinny Blom approaches landscape design like an artist, so she was the ideal choice for the intimate garden at this 46-room hotel stuffed with 16,000 works of art. Taking her cue from the surrounding landscape, she created a mini Cairngorms of rocky landforms and native Scottish plants, which extends from the back of the former Victorian coaching inn to a wildflower meadow on the River to table: There's no kitchen garden but the Clunie Dining Room uses seasonal ingredients — nettles, sorrel, yarrow, wild raspberries — foraged from the surrounding from £525; two-course dinner at the Clunie Dining Room from £43, The grade II listed home of the landscape designer Arne Maynard and his partner William Collinson isn't exactly a luxury hotel, but it is one of the most special places to stay in the UK. The terracotta-hued medieval farmhouse with its Renaissance tower has been restored by the Spitalfield Trust and sits in four acres of clipped topiary, tumbling roses and meadow planting, melding into the deep-green hills beyond — a SSSI with views to the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains. The interiors, which include two large ensuite doubles, are a poetic journey into the to table: Home-cooked breakfasts in the farmhouse kitchen draw on produce from the kitchen garden; the jam is delicious.B&B doubles from £240, two-night minimum stay, This Georgian country-house hotel with its 46 dreamily designed rooms, suites and cottage is also a model of sustainability. The 438 acres include gardens created in the late 19th century by the horticulturalist William Wildsmith and now overseen by the head gardener Liz Reay. The walled garden leads to the secluded Bothy by Wildsmith spa and the fields are full of wildflowers. Garden to table: Skye Gyngell's restaurants — including the green Michelin-starred Marle — make use of produce from the seven greenhouses in the biodynamic market garden, 500 fruit trees and home farm. B&B doubles from £600; lunch and dinner at Marle from £71, 'There aren't many places in England left like it,' says the owner Olga Polizzi of this former historic hunting lodge, set in 108 idyllic acres of romantic gardens laid out in the early 19th century by Humphrey Repton, with woodlands, follies, grottoes and the Tamar River running through it. Remarkably, Repton's original scheme, now under the stewardship of the head gardener and blogger Ben Ruscombe-King, is pretty much intact. The irrigation system, together with the sound of birdsong, provides the soundtrack to a stay in one of the 21 elegantly poetic rooms. Garden to table: Repton's plan included a walled kitchen garden, but it was never realised. Ingredients are sourced from farms in the local area — including the fabulous Devon cream for scones at teatime. B&B doubles from £355; three-course dinner from £75, The showstopper at this stateliest of gardens, now owned and maintained by the National Trust, is the extraordinary six-acre parterre of box-and yew-framed triangular beds that rolls down to a semi-circular bed on the Thames. It was created in 1849 by John Fleming, a Victorian pioneer of carpet and ribbon bedding. Other highlights of the 376-acre estate include a yew maze, the Long Garden full of topiary and statuary and the outdoor pool where John Profumo met Christine Keeler in 1961. The equally grand house has been leased as a hotel since 1985. Inside, its 47 rooms and suites are a period drama of panelled walls, sparkling chandeliers and oil to table: A kitchen garden provides fruit, vegetables and herbs for the hotel and cookery school.B&B doubles from £445,
Belfast Telegraph
07-06-2025
- General
- Belfast Telegraph
Diarmuid Gavin: The 19th century Irish gardener who went on to influence the world
In the quiet countryside near Kilmeaden, Co Waterford, a boy was born in 1838 who would go on to transform the way the world thought about gardens. William Robinson was not born to privilege, and yet he became one of the most influential horticulturists in history — an Irishman who reshaped the English landscape, one perennial at a time.
Irish Independent
05-06-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Diarmuid Gavin: The Waterford gardener who became one of the 19th century's most influential horticulturalists
William Robinson, who rose from humble beginnings, transformed the way we think about gardens and reshaped the English landscape In the quiet countryside near Kilmeaden, Co Waterford, a boy was born in 1838 who would go on to transform the way the world thought about gardens. William Robinson was not born to privilege, and yet he became one of the most influential horticulturists in history — an Irishman who reshaped the English landscape, one perennial at a time. Robinson's early life was rooted in toil. As a teenager, he worked as a garden boy at Curraghmore, the grand estate of the Marquess of Waterford. From dawn to dusk, he maintained the elaborate, high-maintenance plantings that were the height of Victorian fashion — exotic hothouse flowers, regimented bedding schemes and manicured formality. But even then, he felt something was wrong. Nature, as he saw it, wasn't meant to be clipped into submission. By his early twenties, Robinson had risen to manage the hothouses at Ballykilcavan in Co Laois. Then came the rupture. According to one enduring story, he stormed out after a row with his employers and left the hothouse fires to die overnight — killing an entire collection of delicate tropical plants. Whether fact or folklore, the tale hints at the fierce independence that would define his career. He sailed for London and by 1861 had secured a post at the Royal Botanic Society's gardens in Regent's Park. There, surrounded by the spectacle of Empire and the extremes of Victorian horticulture, Robinson's vision sharpened. He hated what he saw: endless rows of red salvias, blue lobelias and elaborate carpet bedding — all costly, artificial and ephemeral. Gardening, he believed, had lost its soul. So, he picked up his pen and began to fight back. Robinson started writing for The Gardeners' Chronicle, and then began publishing books with force and flair. In 1870, he released The Wild Garden, a revolutionary manifesto calling for a new kind of planting, one that embraced native and naturalised plants, hardy perennials, wildflowers and the beauty of ecological balance. Let daffodils spread in meadows, he said. Let ferns and foxgloves flourish in dappled woods. Three years later, he launched The Garden, a weekly magazine that became his mouthpiece for the next 40 years. It wasn't just a gardening journal — it was a battlefield. Robinson used its pages to champion fellow naturalists, challenge powerful institutions like the Royal Horticultural Society and skewer his rivals. He was sharp-tongued and opinionated, but his ideas were catching on. One of his most fruitful alliances was with Gertrude Jekyll, a painter-turned-gardener with an eye for colour and form. Robinson supported her when others dismissed her as too feminine or whimsical. Together, they shaped the Arts and Crafts movement in gardening, a gentler, more human vision of landscape. Robinson's writing reached a crescendo in 1883 with the publication of The English Flower Garden. It became one of the best-selling gardening books of all time. Structured as an encyclopaedia of plants suitable for different garden types, it was also a deeply passionate call for change. He urged gardeners to abandon labour-intensive, seasonal planting and embrace resilient, long-lived and ecologically harmonious gardens. In effect, he gave ordinary people permission to garden with freedom and instinct. Flush with success, he bought Gravetye Manor in Sussex in 1884, a semi-ruined Elizabethan house with more than 1,000 acres. There, Robinson planted wild bulbs by the thousand, created orchard meadows, and filled his borders with drifting perennials. He lived there until his death in 1935 at the age of 96. He had no children, but his ideas survived him. Today, Robinson's legacy is everywhere — in modern naturalistic planting, in the return to meadows and no-mow lawns, in the rise of pollinator gardens and climate-conscious design. Designers like Piet Oudolf, Beth Chatto and Dan Pearson all walk in his footsteps. Even the Royal Horticultural Society, once a target of his ire, honoured him by renaming their journal The Garden in 1975. For Robinson — this feisty, self-taught gardener from Co Waterford — had redefined the English garden. So if you ever feel the urge to stop pruning and simply let things grow, you're not being lazy. You're doing what William Robinson did — trusting the land and letting the wild back in. Plant of the week Allium Ornamental onions are very cheerful plants that pop up their perfectly spherical heads in May and June. 'Purple Sensation' is a reliable choice with a rich colour. For something more dramatic, try 'Globemaster' which has giant lilac heads. If you prefer white, 'Mount Everest' is a good performer. My own favourite is 'Christophii', star of Persia, a globe of beautiful starry violet flowers with almost a metallic hint to them. Plant in autumn in a sunny spot in fertile well drained soil or add some grit to heavy clay soil. Reader Q&A Can you grow wisteria from seed? I have a wisteria which produced lots of seed pods last year and was hoping to grow some more but nothing happened. There's a much easier way to propagate wisteria — it's called layering. You do this by bending a long pliable stem that will reach the ground. Where the stem touches the ground, gently wound the stem by rubbing with a knife and now bury this part in the soil — if necessary, use a bit of wire bent to keep it in place. This will form its own root system while still attached to the mother plant. Next spring, you will be able to dig it up as a separate plant and pot up or plant elsewhere.
