Botanic Gardens

We had a lovely wander round the Botanic Gardens yesterday. The weather was changeable so we were very glad of the two exhibitions on at the John Hope Gateway building that kept us out of the rain!


Downstairs, Gold Glass Rubber and Recycling showcases recycled art, sculpture and jewellery from Danish crafters. Everything in this exhibition is amazing, beautiful and fascinating. However, apart from the lovely brooches made by Gitte Helle out of broken porcelain, none of the jewellery seems really wearable (unless on the catwalk or in certain nightclubs). One series of 'art objects' was made largely of chess pieces and I wondered whether in fact these would have been better recycled by packaging them into new 'recycled chess sets'. This exhibition is on until 11 September and is worth checking out.

Upstairs is Found in the Fields a stunning exhibition of lithographs and linoprints from Carry Ackroyd, inspired by poetry by John Clare. The works give a modern interpretation of Clare's work and are full of closely observed scenes from nature, in some cases with excerpts from the poetry being threaded through the illustrations. If you can't get along to the exhibition, Carry's website has a wide selection of her work, including a lot that isn't in this exhibition. The exhibition is on until 4 September and is worth visiting at least once.

After we had seen the exhibitions, we wandered round the Botanic Gardens. On the pond we found a moorhen mother with five of the smallest chicks I've ever seen! Their mother had to rush them into the reeds as the grey heron flew over. I don't think there will be five chicks for much longer, as there are two pairs of sparrowhawks in the Gardens as well as the heron. Not to mention foxes....

Talking of sparrowhawks, one has just flown over our flat. I recognised it by its flight pattern, a few quick wingbeats and then a glide, over and over as it circled the sky.

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