Transforming two acres of flat field & wilderness into a Japanese garden

Maitreya will be playing at the Albert Hall in Nottingham on Sunday 16th January 2011

Pureland Japanese Garden has been a haven for visitors from all other the World and has become quite famous and loved by many visitors who return again and again.

Owned by Buddha Maitreya, he has received numerous awards in creating the stunning garden. Buddha Maitreya was born and brought up in Handa, Japan, has an MA in Buddhist Theology and lived the life of a Zen monk for a time. Through the invitation of a friend he came to England. He stayed in various centres and universities around the country and was whilst staying in Teversal in Nottingham he came across a property for sale in North Clifton that became a base from which to teach meditation.

Pureland Japanese garden was born in 1973 as a base for the teaching of meditation and provides a peaceful and beautiful garden for guests and visitors to the centre to enjoy.

Maitreya's main aim in creating the garden was to provide a peaceful, beautiful area which guests and visitors to the centre could enjoy. So in 1980 he began the process of transforming two acres of flat field and wilderness into a Japanese garden.

With no previous gardening experience, he plunged into the task, feeling his way as he went along. As North Clifton was in a flat area, Maitreya missed the hilly and mountainous scenery of Japan and so started to create his own in miniature.

Pureland Japanese Garden http://www.buddhamaitreya.co.uk/

Awards:

• BA Award for Horticulture – 2008
• Businessman of the Year – 2008
• Healthy Living Award – 2009
• Lifetime Achievement Award - 2009

The garden has been featured many times on television, magazines and newspapers, and is also featured in the following books:

• The Inspirational Garden (AA Books)
• The Good Gardens Guide (Readers Digest)
• The Most Amazing Gardens to Visit in Britain (Readers Digest)

Christmas comes early for one Lincoln Visitor

Christmas has come early for a city visitor after they won Visit Lincolnshire’s Christmas Elf Competition – a fun challenge that got residents and visitors talking about the best bits of the county!

The competition ‘Watch Out, Elf’s About’ hosted on Visit Lincolnshire’s website gave fans of the county a chance to win a Nintendo Wii by guessing correctly which Lincolnshire visitor attraction the festive Elf visited each week and adding a top tip of things to do whilst there.

A special presentation took place just in time for Christmas on Friday 17th December where the winner, Sue Matejtschuk from Hertfordshire (centre) and her son (left), collected their prize from Matthew Stevenson (right) from Springbok Computers who kindly sponsored the Nintendo Wii as the competition’s prize.

The competition supported Visit Lincolnshire and Lincoln Business Improvement Group’s first fully coordinated Christmas marketing campaign for the City, it unites all sectors of the local visitor economy including events, retail, food and drink, attractions and accommodation with the aim of boosting business over the festive season.

Upon receiving the news that she had won the prize Sue Matejtschuk said, “I was browsing the Visit Lincolnshire website to find out more after we heard the bad news that the Lincoln Christmas Market had been cancelled by the weather. I spotted the competition and thought, why not?”

“It was easy to suggest lots of great things to do in Lincoln, having both children studying in Lincoln means we often visit. It's a wonderful setting, the old with the new, something for everyone. Our first visit was when our son was looking for a place to study, and the University laid on a guided coach tour for parents. We now also receive the Taste of Lincolnshire magazine and have stayed in some lovely guest houses.”

“To receive my prize in time for Christmas will be perfect timing, we'll all be together and able to play the games as a family, and if I can find fitness type game for it there'll be no excuse for putting on lots of weight over the festive season!”

Matthew Stevenson, from Springbok Computers who donated the prize said, “Working with Visit Lincolnshire on their Christmas campaign has been great, it’s allowed me to contribute towards raising the profile of Springbok Computers whilst also promoting the City in the run up to Christmas.”

Interested in boats? Like food? Then join the Secret Supper Club on the last remaining Humber Sloop

A dining experience with a difference has been launched aboard super sloop Spider T berthed at Keadby Lock.

On a cold December evening with thick slabs of ice still floating in the Keadby & Stainforth Canal, guests gathered for the inaugural ‘meeting’ of The Old Maritime Secret Supper Club.

Renowned local chef Nigel Brown, whose Cookery Academy is based at The Ropewalk in Barton-upon-Humber, demonstrated his skills in the galley of the beautifully restored sloop which was itself launched at New Holland in 1926.

The evening was hosted by Spider T’s owners Mal and Val Nicholson, who have lovingly restored this treasure of the national historic fleet, with Nigel and Lisa Brown demonstrating and serving the delicacies prepared on the galley’s Rayburn range.

Guests included members of the Humber Keel and Sloop Preservation Society and the Humber Yawl Club which are both dedicated to preserving traditional craft of the estuary in their traditional waters.

With its Edwardian ambience, the Spider T’s dining room will be a ‘secret’ rendezvous for that special occasion, be it a private or corporate event, catering for up to 12 people for whom Nigel will demonstrate his cooking skills using locally sourced foods.

For further details The Nigel Brown Cookery Academy call 01469 530044.

http://www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk/ | www.spidert.co.uk