It had been on my mind to start a blog, or something similar, for a while. Now I've done it.
Why? Well, I like gardens. I like old Walled Kitchen Gardens. I like to watch TV programmes about Walled Kitchen Gardens and the skills and techniques practiced in them. I’ve quite liked a number of the programmes which have aired in recent years. But, ever since they first showed here in the UK in 1987, I’ve liked especially the BBC series, 'Victorian Kitchen Garden', 'Victorian Kitchen’, and the sister series which followed them.
Every so often, a new programme or series will appear on our screens which has the DNA of 'Victorian Kitchen Garden' etched into it, in whole or in part: ‘Victorian Farm’; ‘Apples: British To The Core’, ‘The Marvellous Mrs. Beeton’; 'Wartime Farm'; ‘The Manor Reborn’, etc., and, most recently (spring 2015), ‘Kew On A Plate’.
None of them, though (apart from some clips on ‘The Hairy Bikers’ once), acknowledge those seminal programmes or their creators at all. Imitation may be the greatest form of flattery but, when the audience is left unaware of the original, the homage falls a little flat.
So, I continue to live in hope that, one day, the BBC will make a programme (or programmes) properly crediting - celebrating even - the original series and the people in, and behind, them.
In the meantime, this is my little tribute, and my little contribution to spreading the word. I hope you find something interesting or enjoyable amongst my ramblings.
Vic.
Why? Well, I like gardens. I like old Walled Kitchen Gardens. I like to watch TV programmes about Walled Kitchen Gardens and the skills and techniques practiced in them. I’ve quite liked a number of the programmes which have aired in recent years. But, ever since they first showed here in the UK in 1987, I’ve liked especially the BBC series, 'Victorian Kitchen Garden', 'Victorian Kitchen’, and the sister series which followed them.
Every so often, a new programme or series will appear on our screens which has the DNA of 'Victorian Kitchen Garden' etched into it, in whole or in part: ‘Victorian Farm’; ‘Apples: British To The Core’, ‘The Marvellous Mrs. Beeton’; 'Wartime Farm'; ‘The Manor Reborn’, etc., and, most recently (spring 2015), ‘Kew On A Plate’.
None of them, though (apart from some clips on ‘The Hairy Bikers’ once), acknowledge those seminal programmes or their creators at all. Imitation may be the greatest form of flattery but, when the audience is left unaware of the original, the homage falls a little flat.
So, I continue to live in hope that, one day, the BBC will make a programme (or programmes) properly crediting - celebrating even - the original series and the people in, and behind, them.
In the meantime, this is my little tribute, and my little contribution to spreading the word. I hope you find something interesting or enjoyable amongst my ramblings.
Vic.
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