Queensland Music Festival

We were asked again this year to design VIP gifts for the Queensland Music Festival which starts this week. We incorporated the Festival's logo into either a sterling silver keyring or sterling silver necklace - the end results looked amazing. Yet again the Festival's programme is varied and far-reaching resulting in a  major cultural and artistic success story with a national and international reputation. QMF aims to transform lives through unforgettable musical experiences.

We would again like to congratulate the Director, Deborah Conway on an incredible programme and wish her and her team every success. For all the details of the festival go to http://qmf.org.au/

Sneaky Peek

Sneaky peek at Spring/Summer 2011 collection

From Downton Abbey to the "House of Art"

Being a Downton Abbey fan I was very excited to visit this great house this week - situated in the beautiful Hampshire countryside Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey) is still the family home to the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon. The house was also the home of the 5th Earl of Carnarvon who famously discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.

The interior of Highclere Castle feels very much like a grand family home and those rooms used by the TV show are instantly recognizable - the drawing room, Lady Mary's bedroom and the bedroom in which the rather unlucky Turkish envoy briefly stayed in!

The house sits in beautiful gardens - the layout and appearance of the parkland has not changed much from the original Capability Brown design and contains many flower and plant species from around the world.

Petworth House in West Sussex is by contrast a much more formal building and was in it's day called the "House of Art". It is jam packed with Turners, Gainsboroughs, 2 beautiful William Blakes and many other stunning paintings and sculpture that the owners collected on their "Grand Tour" during the early 19th century.

Petworth also gives an amazing insight into the lives of "ordinary folk" and those that worked in the kitchens of the big house. The kitchens have also been restored to their former glory showing the vessels and tools of the chefs of the day

I have only touched on the wonders of these magnificent buildings - for more info go to http://www.highclerecastle.co.uk/ and http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-petworthhouse/

Anyone For Tennis!

Watching Wimbledon on the TV has always made me feel homesick for good old blighty. My trip home this year coincided with those 2 weeks in June and I was extremely lucky, thanks to some old friends Sophia and Andrew Castle to go to the great event. The All England Lawn Tennis Club looked magnificent - the sun was shining, the flowers were blooming and the tennis was great.

On the Saturday I watched Andrew play in the veterans doubles competition. His partner was the legendary Mansour Bahrami  - the master of the amazing touch and trick shots - and boy could he play and that was with an injured arm.The ball was flying everywhere and in one hilarious point played out in slow motion there was no ball! The umpire didn't seem to mind - in face she was happy to join in the fun especially when the champagne arrived court side! Andrew and Mansour's opponents Aussies Pat Cash and Mark Woodforde were also great sports and went on to win the match and ultimately the competition.

Mansour Bahrami, Andrew Castle, Pat Cash and Mark Woodforde

The next day was the men's final Nadal vs Djokovic at Centre Court - what a treat. We were seated one row above the players boxes and the tension between both camps was intense - alternate sides jumping up and applauding as each hardly fought point was won. The gorgeous Nadal was my favourite and probably most of centre court (and I have it on good authority he is a great guy too) but no one could deny the brilliance of Djokovic on the day.

Djokovic preparing to serve



Before and after the match I was able to do a touch of  "star spotting" in the VIP area - Rafael Nadal, Martina Navratilova, Pat Cash, Virginia Wade, Jeremy Bates and Boris Becker  to name but a few. Sophia and I were also on the TV briefly and spotted by many friends throughout the world - very funny!  A great weekend - cheers Andrew!