I was invited to two private views of graduate shows last week. The first was a fashion show at Brooklands College in Weybridge.
Students strutted their amazing designs down the catwalk. The show was very diverse, ranging from razor sharp tailoring:

I wrote this for essentialsurrey.co.uk
I went to Hampton Court Palace to see the ‘Glorious Georges’ exhibition.
…in pictures
I went to the penultimate day of the Charleston Festival in Lewes, East Sussex, which was marking its 25th year. I heard Charlotte Higgins and Adam Nicolson read from their new non-fiction books on Classics. Charlotte Higgins’ ‘Under Another Sky’ was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize.
I wrote this for essentialsurrey.co.uk
An exhibition on the life of Surrey born speed record breaker Donald Campbell, holder of 13 world speed records in the 1920s and 30s in the famous Bluebird cars and boats, launches Leatherhead Museum into Spring.
Read my full story here.
Continue reading Donald Campbell exhibition at Leatherhead Museum

Clandon Park (near Guildford) is famous for its imposing Venetian Palladian architecture, impressive Marble Hall and intricate stucco ceilings. So it may come as a surprise to learn that it was once used as a military hospital. Indeed, visitors to the property, which the National Trust has owned since 1956, can now see a First World War operating theatre, which has just been recreated within the building to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War and the role that the estate played.
A few years ago I was given a private tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London and I had special permission to photograph the space. I felt very privileged to be able to wander around with my camera, free to capture the changing light across the seating, beams, stage and even backstage area.
Tulips are like colourful wine goblets, sprouting and spouting from the ground and there is a fantastically riotous clang of tulips at this very moment at RHS Wisley.
Design for a Neo-Palladian Villa overlooking Waynflete’s Tower, Esher Place 1730-1735An exhibition examining the life and work of William Kent, one of the leading designers of early Georgian Britain, has opened at the V&A museum.
Continue reading William Kent: Designing Georgian Britain at the V&A Museum.
I visited Cherkley Court in Leatherhead in 2007 when the gardens were open to the public and the house was to be viewed on named occasions; a bright orangery spilled out onto a terrace where one could sip tea and be fed on the spectacular view of the Surrey Hills.