The King’s Hunting Ground

Tasmanian Sue, a.k.a. The Skinny Wench of A Word in Your Ear, wants us to test our green thumbs in the latest A Word-a-Week Photo Challenge. Eyes closed and the unabridged wide open, her index finger came to a stop and blindly selected a six-letter word to get us all oriented: GARDEN.

Our photo-shoot destination is The Regent’s Park (TRP), one of The Royal Parks of London and the largest grassy area in all of Central London. Actually, Londoners drop the “The” and just call it Regent’s Park.

Harry and his philosopher’s stone, along with Bridget and her witty diary, used TRP for some on-location shooting for their respective hit movies.

Anyway, it was King Henry VIII who appropriated TRP for his personal hunting ground – beasts, not women – and a place for his horses to stretch their legs.

If the “Hankster” were around today, he wouldn’t even recognize it – the stylish and well-manicured GARDENS — five in all, including Queen Mary’s — parents and their kids taking a leisurely stroll, joggers of all speeds racing by, loads of sports fields at The Hub waiting to be booked, restaurants, cafes, an open-air theatre and the world-class London Zoo.

Flowers of every color are in full bloom. Fountains have all been buffed, polished and pigeon residue removed.  Ducks and swans have landed safely and quack and splash in the small lakes and ponds that dot the landscape.

And, best of all, most of the gray gloom has lifted, at least for a while.

What do you say we remove the lens caps, meander around and shoot a few virtual arrows to see what we can bag?

Oh, and if you don’t mind, Stelvio Cipriani and a few of his musician friends would like to tag along.

©The Palladian Traveler | ©Tom Palladio Images

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