Stimulated by seeing two very different structures, the archaeologist, scientist, gastronome and TV personality Glyn Daniel ‘thought it might be interesting to collect together a few notes about megalithic follies’. As a recognised expert in the field of genuine megaliths, Daniel was well-placed to consider the folly variety. In 1959 he published his thoughts in Antiquity, the journal of which he was editor.
Tag: Alton Towers
Follies for breakfast.
In the 1980s follies played a part in promoting a new breakfast cereal: special packs of Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain contained picture cards featuring ‘Gardens to Visit’. The twenty cards were illustrated with views of gardens in Britain and Ireland, all of them open to the public, and five follies or quirky garden ornaments were among the cards to be collected. As the blurb on the box announced ‘Most of us are enchanted by the magic of a beautiful garden’.
Recording Britain
The Dashwood Mausoleum, West Wycombe. Image ©fotoLibra/Scott A. McNealy.
This weekend the country celebrates the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Thinking of the events of 1939-45, the Folly Flâneuse was reminded of a wartime project to document the changing rural and urban face of Britain. At a time when the future seemed uncertain, ‘Recording Britain’ commissioned artists to portray the country as it then was, creating a visual history for future generations.