A blustery,  but thankfully dry, Saturday morning allowed visitors to enjoy the opening of our outdoor H-art show – and many did. Mark de la Torre “did us proud” with lots of new and exciting garden pots to grace the Courtyard Garden here (which will look exceedingly bare when the show is over and the pots go to their new homes) and a sophisticated collection of double skinned bowls for the table. The show-stopper was a bird bath incorporating a stoneware bath encased in rugged concrete and standing waist-high on a large oak post. Truly a one-off, having been completed just a day or so before the show opened, it was snapped up in the first hour of the show and is destined for a lovely garden nearby.

Mark de la Torre Bird Bath Tinsmiths

Although a brief review, we cannot pass without comment on the range and quality of homemade cakes made by staff and friends and offered to accompany morning coffee. Chocolate Brownies, Lemon Drizzle, Walnut Loaf, Carrot Cake – the cake exhibition was fabulous. Thanks to Bill, Melissa and Kate.

Refreshments at Tinsmiths exhibition opening