No need to apologise Dove, I should have said "Thank you for reminding me he is an artist" I used the wrong word, it happens too often these days. And sometimes I over analyse, I can't decide if his pictures are stereotype or irony or comment.
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." Sir Terry Pratchett
I agree that Chelsea is an expensive day out but I don't believe it is only for the middle classes. I'm sure a high proportion of the 160,000 visitors are 'working class'. I have gone back and listened to the interview again, thinking perhaps he was only talking about Chelsea and his first comments about the visiting public did say that they were of the middle classes and 'you don't see many ethnic minorities there'. But later....... Monty: Do you think the social structure of the British ....is revealed through the way we garden and what we do? Martin: There is a class element, it's classic middle-class territory........
Which doesn't really answer Monty's question!
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
Despite income and 'status' I still would term myself 'working class' ........... Personally, I think any hobby or passion which brings people together, is 'classless'. And I think in gardening, possibly more than any other pursuit, the only thing that differentiates you and me is the space we have to garden in, our skills and knowledge, and our local conditions, not our incomes, our family background nor the colour of our skin.
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
If, as people seem to think, it's not easy to define "middle-class", what about "gardening"? What do you have to do to be a gardener? Would you consider Prince Charles a gardener or is he somebody who owns a garden?
Prince Charles once said (allegedly) that he talks to his plants and to me that is someone who has a passion and understanding of plants and is a gardener.
I also consider my sister to be a gardener even though she doesn't have a garden. She grows things indoors and fixes plants just by looking at them and somehow knowing what they want.
For me a gardener is someone who grows plants. Easy enough to own one and employ people to design, build and maintain a garden if you have the financial resources but getting your hands dirty and cultivating plants is what makes a gardener.
As for Chelsea prices, it's surely a question of spending priorities. Some perfectly ordinary people can afford season tickets to Manchester United and the cost of travel to away games at home and abroad plus the cost of away tickets. Others afford to go on holiday to exotic places. Some pay a small fortune to go to ballet and opera or join a golf club. Each to their own.
I choose to spend my money on my home and garden (and student daughter) so take simple holidays. Being a member of the RHS (for the price of a magazine subscription) gets me a good saving on a Chelsea ticket and I get free access to all their gardens, their experts for advice and many partner gardens including some here in France plus a monthly magazine. When I go to Chelsea I drive over and stay with friends in London and make sure I do a raid on shops for stuff like paint which is ridiculously more expensive here and garden supplies and proper English or Irish black pudding. My choice.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Prince Charles once said (allegedly) that he talks to his plants and to me that is someone who has a passion and understanding of plants and is a gardener.
I also consider my sister to be a gardener even though she doesn't have a garden. She grows things indoors and fixes plants just by looking at them and somehow knowing what they want.
My understanding is that Prince Charles gets his hands dirty in his garden and gets a great deal of pleasure from doing so ... that is a gardener.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I think they're intended to provoke thought and comment ... and they seem to be quite successful at it
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I have gone back and listened to the interview again, thinking perhaps he was only talking about Chelsea and his first comments about the visiting public did say that they were of the middle classes and 'you don't see many ethnic minorities there'. But later.......
Monty: Do you think the social structure of the British ....is revealed through the way we garden and what we do?
Martin: There is a class element, it's classic middle-class territory........
Which doesn't really answer Monty's question!
I also consider my sister to be a gardener even though she doesn't have a garden. She grows things indoors and fixes plants just by looking at them and somehow knowing what they want.
As for Chelsea prices, it's surely a question of spending priorities. Some perfectly ordinary people can afford season tickets to Manchester United and the cost of travel to away games at home and abroad plus the cost of away tickets. Others afford to go on holiday to exotic places. Some pay a small fortune to go to ballet and opera or join a golf club. Each to their own.
I choose to spend my money on my home and garden (and student daughter) so take simple holidays. Being a member of the RHS (for the price of a magazine subscription) gets me a good saving on a Chelsea ticket and I get free access to all their gardens, their experts for advice and many partner gardens including some here in France plus a monthly magazine. When I go to Chelsea I drive over and stay with friends in London and make sure I do a raid on shops for stuff like paint which is ridiculously more expensive here and garden supplies and proper English or Irish black pudding. My choice.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.