The Dame Malvina Major Foundation helps talented young
performing artists to achieve their potential by providing financial
assistance, performance opportunities and professional guidance, supporting
them to prepare for professional careers.
They do this through a range of grants, prizes and
scholarships, including the Emerging Artists Programme with New Zealand Opera.
Dame Malvina established the Foundation in recognition of
what she had been given as a young singer to allow her to follow her dream of
becoming an opera star. Today her vision to “Share the Dream” continues to
underpin everything the Foundation does to support young New Zealanders across
the whole spectrum of the performing arts.
Each year Willowbrook Park hosts a charity concert - the Spring Serenade. This year it will be held on November 17th. Tickets are $59 pp and can be purchased through the website, or by phone.
Mirabile dictu, Willowbrook Park is front cover of the April edition of NZ House and Garden!
We were given a 7 page spread in the magazine, which encompassed aspects of family life here at the manor and brilliantly showcased the estate thanks to the photography of the talented Jane Ussher and the words of seasoned writer Denise Irvine.
Denise Irvine Jane Ussher
And some very kind words from Editor Sally Duggan...
We have been slowly chipping away at a few final touches since we shifted in (2 years ago this Christmas). One of those touches was finishing the courtyard fountain and pond. We have so far got it to this stage....
The plans for the fountain show the circular lawn and pond, with a fountain in the centre and four stone lions spouting water into the pond from the lawn...
We started the pond 2 years ago, when we were forming the driveway...
And then had the turf laid...
Inspired by photos such as these...
Then we took a long time searching for a fountain. We initially considered ornate statuary such as this...
But settled on something more restrained and classical...
like these...
By now the fountain was starting to look almost finished, but we had also gone through 3 years in a row where we failed to get our waterlilies in the lake to take (every time a fresh shoot came up the Mallards ate it). So we decided to try having waterlilies and goldfish in the courtyard pond after seeing how this could still look rather nice...
We were lucky enough that a local couple who booked to come to high tea after the fine homes tour said that they had a large pond with fish and waterlilies, which they were having to cull annually, and would we like some? We said yes please. So last weekend we popped down the road to visit them and collect said aquatic offerings. They had a large clay puddled pond with masses of fish and lilies...
The gentleman kindly donned his waders, jumped in, and started to dig out some well rooted lilies...
He also caught us some fish (7), for our pond as well...
Here are two of them (Brian and Jackie) being released into our pond at home...
I spent the morning potting up the lily pads, making sure I spaced them all out carefully and turned all the leaves up to face the sun. Woe betide any Mallards that come near this pond!
Finally, we wish to complete the fountain by getting a jet ring to go around the inside of the pond and spray water back towards the urn...
As well as some Buxus or Euonymus to go around the outside...
We are discovering it is nice to have some ongoing projects, to keep us engaged with the park in a creative journey that will hopefully last for generations to come. Night night for now...
Willowbrook Park was front page of the Waikato Times again, this time promoting its inclusion in the Fine Homes Tour, a charitable event that will see 1500 people pass through its doors over the course of a weekend. The tour will raise over $100,000.00 for the Waikato Breast Cancer Research Trust, as well as Riding for the Disabled.
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Whilst all care is taken to ensure any pictures used are in the public domain, or are allowed to be reproduced with credit given, it is possible for genuine mistakes to be made.
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We hope that with everyone’s co-operation we can continue enjoying blogging courteously, and without any offense caused to any other artist or blogger.
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