Skip to main content

How natural is natural?

The adjective 'natural' is used with wild abandon to describe anything which once came from nature. The dictionary definition includes the distinction that it is not made or caused by humankind and yet our influence on the world means that little can properly be classed natural in those terms.

For anyone attempting to live a more clean lifestyle, this is a major dilemma, particularly when considering choices in food, cosmetics and household products.

In the heart of Hitchin, beside the resolutely-closed Hitchin Museum (just a few metres from the newly-opened North Herts Museum, which has been so badly managed that it doesn't even have a proper entrance), there lies the William Ransom Physic Garden. It's a beautiful spot, even in the closing days of September.


William Ransom began selling essential oils in Hitchin in 1846 and the business is still going today, albeit owned by a major pharmaceutical operation. His garden of aromatic plants is a fragrant reminder of the man's legacy, but his influence spreads across the town, with a local school named after him and the ever-growing Hitchin Lavender, which brings visitors to the town throughout the summer.

Even in early September, there's lavender to be collected


Hitchin Lavender is an off-shoot of the once-thriving local lavender industry, which dates back even further than William Ransom. Now we have a field of lavender that brightens the skyline from spring through to September, together with a tea room and museum. Collecting lavender from a field, bringing it home and enjoying its scent for months to come is probably as close to natural as most of us can hope to come.

It's heartening to see so many major businesses embracing sustainability and they're listening to consumers, who are searching for the natural. William Ransom's garden is a beautiful reminder of the natural that is around us all the time.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Maria Schneider: Live at The Barbican

Tonight’s performance in the main hall at London’s Barbican Centre confirmed Maria Schneider ’s position as one of the finest composers of our generation. Working with the sublime Oslo Jazz Ensemble (formerly Denada), Schneider presented a selection of tunes from her ‘Data Lords’ double album from 2020 and the result was simply extraordinary. Photo credit @Hilary Seabrook With a host of Grammy awards and a Pulitzer Prize nomination for Data Lords , Schneider has proved her right to stand on the Barbican stage in front of one of the finest ensembles in the world. Her music allows every member to shine, individually and collectively. Sax players who double on clarinet, bass clarinet, flute and alto flute, trumpets and flugelhorns, an accordion and multiple percussion pieces wielded by the drummer collectively provide a range of timbres, textures and dynamics that thrilled this audience. The Data Lords  compositions celebrate everything that is wonderful about nature, as well as all ...

Big Wade - 'Piano Man' out now

Big Wade and Black Swan Theory collectively blends funk, soul, jazz and everything that fills the cracks between those genres: his new album -  Piano Man - on all major streaming platforms ahead of the Piano Man Tour 2024 , which has dates across the US. Piano Man  brings a selection of original and covers, including a stunning version of Autumn Leaves , which reinvents the song as the funky, electronic Autumn . Big Wade's voice takes the song's melody and improvises around and around, with backing vocals and a deliberately sparse arrangement underpinning the song. Similarly, on Children of the Ghetto , the lead and backing vocals blend in with the soulful musicians of Black Swan Theory. Electronics are used with dexterity, often expanding the vocal lines, as in the ethereal and ghostly opening of Don't Let Me Go . However, the tools never dominate - simply adding depth and layers to the funk. Never more than when Big Wade enters a new world in Interludes , including vocals...

The Darius Brubeck Quartet: Live at Jazz Cafe Posk

My first visit to Jazz Cafe Posk in London's Hammersmith coincided with the 60th anniversary of Posk - The Polish Social and Cultural Association - and the first performance in the club by pianist and composer Darius Brubeck. Photo credit @ Hilary Seabrook Darius was 10 when he joined his father on a historic tour of Poland. The Dave Brubeck Quartet toured Poland from 6 to 18 March 1958, just three years after the communist regime's ban on jazz was lifted. Without a doubt, this was the biggest jazz event in post-war Poland, with the archetypal and hugely successful outfit of Dave Brubeck (piano), Paul Desmond (alto sax), Eugene Wright (bass) and Joe Morello (drums). Sixty years later, in  2018, Darius took his own quartet - the same one he brought to Posk in May 2024 - to Poland for a significant tour, recorded and released as the Live in Poland album. Several of the tracks from this album were in the set at Posk and this quartet displayed in depth the benefits of playing to...