Tag Archives: flowers

Walls covered with flowers in a Cambridge art gallery

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I WAS UNCERTAIN about visiting the current exhibition at Kettles Yard in Cambridge. Called “Handpicked: Painting Flowers from 1900 to Today”, it is showing until 6 September 2026. Having seen its name, I assumed that the show would have little to interest me. How wrong I was.

 

The exhibition is a collection of images of flowers, mostly paintings. But they are not any old floral paintings but works by great artists, for example: Vanessa Bell, Chris Ofili, Eric Ravilious, Henri Rousseau, David Bomberg, Eduoard Vuillard, Lubaina Hamid, … and many more. In addition to works by well-known artists, there were many competently executed, attractive works by amateur local artists.

 

Each of the works by the professional artists were well labelled with short explanatory notes. The pictures were beautifully displayed. It was interesting to read what had inspired the artists to choose flowers as subject matter. In many cases, it was not simply the beauty of the flora, but some deeper messages that the artists wanted to convey.

 

I am very glad I viewed this exhibition, which I was at first hesitant about visiting because of its title. If you are in Cambridge or nearby, this is a show not to be missed.

The cemetery where Roman Catholics in Indore are buried

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THE CITY OF Indore has a population of about 3.1 to 3.5 million. Of these, about 17750 are Roman Catholics. Indore is a diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of Bhopal. The diocese was established in 1952, having formerly been Mission Sui Iuris of Indore established in 1931. There are well over 12 Catholic churches in Indore.

 

It so happens that the hotel where we are staying in Indore (in December 2025) is a few hundred yards away from the Kanchanbagh Roman Catholic cemetery, which we took a look at today.

 

Flower garlands on graves

The older graves are raised mounds not too dissimilar from Sephardic gravestones. However, each grave is surmounted by a cross. What interested me was that on many graves there were fresh flowers. There is nothing surprising about this except that many of the flowers are ‘malas’ (garlands) such as are commonly found draped around Hindu effigies and shrines.

 

At the far end of the cemetery there is a large hall in which funeral masses are held. There is a bas-relief depicting the Last Supper at the altar within the hall.

 

On one side of the hall, there are the newer graves. These consist of flat rectangular slabs on which names are listed. These are the names and dates of the people buried beneath a slab. The idea is that several people will be interred beneath each slab, and their names recorded on it. No doubt, the new system is designed to make efficient use of the burial ground. I wondered about this because there seemed to be plenty of unused land in the graveyard.

 

I am pleased that we entered the cemetery because seeing it made me become aware of the surprisingly large number of Roman Catholics in Indore.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF MY READERS

I HOPE THAT 2026 WILL BRING YOU CONTENTMENT, GOOD HEALTH  AND PROSPERITY

It is that time of year again at the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park

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WORDS ARE INADEQUATE to describe the magnificent display of colours that can be seen in the Isabella Plantation at Richmond Park at the end of April and the start of May. I have written about this lovely garden many times before (e.g. https://adam-yamey-writes.com/2021/05/21/a-floral-fireworks-display/) and outlined its history, Do not take it from me that this display of flowering plants (including azaleas, rhododendrons, camelias, bluebells, and much more) is unbelievably beautiful, but hurry there and see it for yourself!

Covering the walls with flowers

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AT THIS TIME OF the year (April), many walls in London are partly hidden behind the exuberant bunches of flowers sprouting from the twisted trunks of Wisteria plants.

The Wisteria was originally grown in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, southern Canada, the north of Iran, and in the east of the USA.  The first Wisteria plant to be grown in Britain was imported from Canton in China in 1816, This was a Wisteria sinensis plant. In 1830, another variety was introduced from Japan. Both varieties have both mauve flowers and white flowers.

In and around London’s Kensington, where I live, although both colours of flower can be seen, the mauve outnumbers the white.