Flybe / September 2018

23 / 116

SEPTEMBER 2018 / Flight Time / 23
Beamish, The Living Museum
of the North, has opened
the first building in its £18m
Remaking Beamish project – a
recreation of the “lost” home
of renowned Georgian quilter
Joseph Hedley.
The cottage features
stones from Joe’s original
home, after the remains of
the building in Warden, near
Hexham, Northumberland,
were uncovered during
an archaeological dig by
Beamish staff and community
members. These include the
flagstones where Joe stood
200 years ago.
The exhibit, which tells
the story of quilting and the
growth of cottage industries
in the early 1800s, has been
painstakingly recreated with
the help of a drawing on an
1820s postcard that gave
valuable details about how
the home looked. A crack in
the front wall, clearly visible in
the drawing, has even been
reproduced.
Remaking Beamish is the
biggest development in the
museum’s 48-year history and
also includes a 1950s town,
a 1950s farm and Georgian
coaching inn, where visitors
can stay overnight.
For nine days in October,
from 20th-28th, Kew
Gardens is teaming up with
award-winning theatre
company Theatre-Rites to
bring to life the story of the
magnificent Temperate
House and its plants through
a theatrical experience using
live music, puppetry and
performance.
Siyanda, an original
creation, is the guardian of
the glasshouse who will be
imparting her knowledge
about some of the temperate
plants of Africa. A larger-than-
life puppet, she is six feet tall
and accompanied by three
performers, her fellow ‘Plant
L O N D O N
Family theatre at Kew
Protectors’, who will help
visitors on their adventure.
A resounding call from a
Plant Protector will signal the
start of the performance,
inviting visitors young and
old to gather and ready
themselves for a journey.
Moving through the leafy
Africa Zone, Siyanda will tell
the stories of some of the
special species that call the
Temperate House their home,
from ancient palms and
plants that can cure diseases,
to plants on the brink of
extinction.
One such specimen is
the majestic Wood’s cycad,
Encephalartos woodii, which
is completely extinct in the
wild and as such has been
dubbed ‘the loneliest plant
in the world’. Siyanda will also
reveal the work of Kew’s army
of horticulturists and scientists
who collect, study and nurture
plants from all over the globe.
The magnificent Temperate
House is the jewel in Kew’s
crown and an unique
performance space.
N E W C A S T L E
New building
for Beamish
The eagerly-anticipated Findhorn Bay
Festival will return for a third year from 26th
September to 1st October, opening with
a concert from one of Scotland’s most
accomplished interpreters of traditional
Highland fiddle music, multi-award-
winning Duncan Chisholm.
Music features prominently throughout
the six-day celebration. Karine Polwart
will play her only Scottish date, with music
from her forthcoming album, while The
Langan Band is set to get the festival crowd
dancing by the sea in Findhorn. Mr McFall’s
Chamber ensemble will be joined by the
local Bukhari Community Choir,
and a triple bill will feature Blue
Rose Code, Adam Holmes &
the Embers and local emerging
musician, Michiel Turner for
a night of supreme
musical talent.
At the heart
of the festival,
Findhorn Bay Arts
presents the world-premiere promenade
theatrical adaption of the 15th-century
epic Older Scots poem The Buke of the
Howlat as part of the Year of Young
People 2018. You can enjoy the show at
dusk in a musical adventure around the
shrubbery in the grounds of Brodie Castle.
Culture Day Forres on 29th September
is a free, fun, family day out, with exciting
exhibitions and performances and lots of
have-a-go activities.
I N V E R N E S S
Festival for everyone
Take-off