A very special opportunity to visit 2 houses on the Turn End estate. Turn End and Middle Turn have a similar plan around a courtyard garden and the same simple and honest use of materials with quarry tiled floor, exposed timber beams and white painted blockwork, but they all enable much personal creativity and individual expression by the occupants in terms of decoration and use of the living spaces. Explore Turn End's own Grade II listed garden and visit the studio of Artist in Residence Heather Hunter, located on the Turn End estate. Teas and homemade cakes. Books and home-grown plants for sale.

£25 (Friends: free, Students with ID card: £20, 5-16 years: £5.00, Under 5s: free)

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Jackie Hunt, Turn End's gardener, shares her photographs and research from a study trip to the Greek island of Corfu, in April 2024.

Jackie will talk about the stunning gardens and landscapes she saw and how gardens are managed including plant selection, pruning and irrigation. Jackie will also highlight particular plants of interest, including spring flowering orchids, for which the island is famous, alongside a range of plants Jackie is interested to grow here at Turn End.

£10.00 (Friends £5.00)

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Late summer brings fiery colour to the garden including gladioli and tender plants such as dahlias and cannas. Our collection of Begonias thrive on these balmy days, protected from the heat of the sun in the deep shade of the Coach House. With limited ticket numbers, find a cool place to relax or explore the many different areas at leisure.

£6.00 (Friends: free, Children (5-16 years): £3.00, children under 5s: free)

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A very special opportunity to visit 2 houses on the Turn End estate. Turn End and Middle Turn have a similar plan around a courtyard garden and the same simple and honest use of materials with quarry tiled floor, exposed timber beams and white painted blockwork, but they all enable much personal creativity and individual expression by the occupants in terms of decoration and use of the living spaces. Explore Turn End's own Grade II listed garden and visit the studio of Artist in Residence Heather Hunter, located on the Turn End estate. Teas and homemade cakes. Books and home-grown plants for sale.

£25 (Friends: free, Students with ID card: £20, 5-16 years: £5.00, Under 5s: free)

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Immerse yourself in nature and flow through a beautiful sequence of outdoor yoga, relaxation and mediation with Ilona. This session is open to all levels. Herbal teas, grown from the garden. The garden will be open until dusk to explore at leisure.

Ilona Ecott is an experience Yoga instructor teaching in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, including Thame, Cuddington and at Fitlife in Haddenham. She has a deep love of nature and the benefits that yoga brings to your body and wellbeing. Please click for Ilona’s Beginners Yoga Guide.

Buy Tickets: £18.00 (Friends £15.00)

This event is weather permitting and dependent on 10 attendees. A refund (excluding Eventbrite fee) will be offered if cancelled due to wet weather.

Join us for a family fun morning of teddy-inspired stories, crafts and songs in Turn End’s beautiful garden.

Bring your teddy to the gardens of Turn End for a morning of bear-inspired stories, crafts, songs and fun. Explore the tranquil grounds and get to know some of the wonderful teddies who live at Turn End.

The gardens will be open from 10am-12pm with guided songs, stories and crafts from 10.30am-11.30am.

Don’t forget to bring your own snacks, picnic blanket and teddy (or other cuddly creature!)

This event is ideally suited for children aged 3-8 years old and their adults to enjoy together but all ages are welcome. All children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Adults: £6.00, Children (5-16 years): £3.00, children under 5s: free)

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This event is being held as part of Bucks Open Weekend 2024. Click here to see what else is on during the Open Weekend.

The verdant midsummer garden is a delightful place to find a cool, shady spot or explore the flowering delights including lilies, agapanthus and everlasting pea. Enjoy the quiet trickle of the fountain in the office courtyard or brave the heat to explore the myriad of plants in full growth in the dry garden. With limited ticket numbers, enjoy a leisurely stroll around the different garden ‘rooms’ or find a quiet place to relax. Visit the studio of Artist in Residence Heather Hunter. Heather specialises in paper art, printing and artist’s books and often uses Turn End garden as a resource.

£6.00 (Friends: free, Children (5-16 years): £3.00, children under 5s: free)

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SORRY, THS EVENT HAS NOW SOLD OUT

Immerse yourself in nature and flow through a beautiful sequence of outdoor yoga with Ilona. As we embrace the light and energy of the longest day of the year in Turn End’s enchanting garden, follow a fusion of postures, mediation and relaxation. Open to all levels. Herbal teas, grown from the garden. The garden will be open until dusk to explore at leisure.

Ilona Ecott is an experience Yoga instructor teaching in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, including Thame, Cuddington and at Fitlife in Haddenham. She has a deep love of nature and the benefits that yoga brings to your body and wellbeing. Please click for Ilona’s Beginners Yoga Guide.

Buy Tickets: £18.00 (Friends £15.00)

This event is weather permitting. A refund will be offered if cancelled due to wet weather.

A very special opportunity to visit 2 houses on the Turn End estate. Turn End and Middle Turn have a similar plan around a courtyard garden and the same simple and honest use of materials with quarry tiled floor, exposed timber beams and white painted blockwork, but they all enable much personal creativity and individual expression by the occupants in terms of decoration and use of the living spaces. Explore Turn End's own Grade II listed garden and visit the studio of Artist in Residence Heather Hunter, located on the Turn End estate. Teas and homemade cakes. Books and home-grown plants for sale.

£20 (Friends: free, Students with ID card: £15, 5-16 years: £5.00, Under 5s: free)

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Join us for our online talk, ‘A Different View of the Twentieth Century, written and presented by Alan Powers, Patron of Turn End Trust.

After many years studying how the history of twentieth century architecture has been constructed, Alan Powers realised that it would benefit from a figure-ground reversal, in which what was previously seen as of primary importance – the aesthetically and technically innovative and visually striking – could become the background, while the foreground is taken by work that took the idea of Modernism in more gradual and adaptive ways, especially in the period 1935-1965 when there was a generational turn in favour of local character, often referred to as Critical Regionalism, a term that is, however, rather self-contradictory and opaque. After looking at a shelf of books about Brutalism in a bookshop, Alan realised that the title he wanted was 'Nice Modern', as it neatly characterises the alternatives, whatever their strengths and qualities, as 'not nice'. Given that 'nice' is usually a term of abuse in architectural circles, this is itself a provocation. Further justification can be found in the fact that a large proportion of new architecture in the past 20 years has revisited aspects of 'Nice Modern', demonstrating that it was not the backwater that historians have usually imagined.

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£10.00 (Friends £5.00)

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Adults £6.00, children free

BOOKING ESSENTIAL. Tickets via the NGS website: https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/7598/turn-end

Entry time slots 2.00-3.15 and 3.15-5.00pm. Once in the garden visitors are welcome to stay until the garden closes at 5pm.

For over forty years Turn End has welcomed visitors for this charity open afternoon, which raises funds for nursing and caring charities. Explore Turn End's series of garden 'rooms' including the dry garden, the spring garden on the site of a Victorian orchard and sunken courtyard gardens (house closed). Late spring delights include bearded iris and early roses. Visit the studio of Artist in Residence Heather Hunter to discover her Artist's books and prints. Teas and home-made cakes sold for Christian Aid (CASH ONLY). Books and home -grown plants for sale (cash or card). Please check our detailed events listing for PARKING ADVICE by clicking here.

Tickets: £6.00 (children under 16 years free)

An introductory garden design course looking at the key principles of garden design in the acclaimed setting of Turn End house and gardens. Led by garden designer Deborah Lewis.

Thursday 25th April, Thursday 2nd May, Thursday 9th May and Thursday 16th May 2024, 10.00-12.30.

Using Turn End as an exemplary model for the integration of house & garden design, this course takes you from the house out into the beautiful series of garden spaces that comprise Turn End. The aim of this course is to help you find the potential in your own garden; to know your garden style and to have a far greater understanding of the principles of good Garden Design. We also hope to inspire you to be more creative in experimenting with your own garden at home. The course begins inside the house at Turn End; a place where the design of inside/outside is so integrated that each can be seen to elevate the success of the other. From here we continue into the private gardens where over four mornings we look at the key principles of garden design. Each week we spend part of our time outside looking at the variety of garden settings here in relation to the original design plans; so that you are able to ‘live’ the dynamics of good design. Includes morning tea/coffee.

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£195 for course held over four mornings. Course notes, refreshments and vision board materials are provided.

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Come and meet award-winning garden designer and TV gardener Manoj Malde in Turn End’s glorious April garden.  Known for his vibrant style and bold use of colour, Manoj presents work on the BBC garden show Your Garden Made Perfect and Channel 4’s Garden Of The Year, where his infectious enthusiasm has made him a hugely popular part of the programmes. Manoj is also an RHS show judge, RHS ambassador and Chelsea Flower Show medallist.

Turn End garden is a place of joy in mid spring, bursting with new life and colour and we are delighted to welcome Manoj to celebrate the launch of his new book Your Outdoor Room – how to create a garden you can live in. Manoj will share his story  A Designers Journey to Chelsea’ and give a lively insight into how his first ever garden at the Chelsea Flower Show came about and sign copies of his new book (£20.00).

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£6.00 (Friends: free, Children (5-16 years): £3.00, children under 5s: free)

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Celebrate Mothering Sunday in Turn End's tranquil and restorative gardens. The garden will be springing into life, with vibrant colour from a multitude of bulbs including Fritillaries, daffodils and early tulips as well as shrubs including flowering currant and Rhododendron. Teas and homemade cakes on sale.

£6.00 (Friends: free, Children (5-16 years): £3.00 children under 5s: free)

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Join Jackie Hunt, Turn End's gardener, for a photographic tour of Turn End's series of gardens. Jackie will start with a brief history of the site and detail the reasons why Margaret and Peter Aldington chose to create their home and garden here. Jackie will then explain the calendar of horticultural activities and plant highlights throughout the year. 

Jackie's talk will be an opportunity to see the garden at times of year when we don't usually open and discover some of the 'behind the scenes' work that goes into caring for this special place.
 
After Jackie's presentation there will be plenty of time to ask her questions.

£6.00 (Friends £5.00)

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photo © Tim Crocker

SORRY, THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT.

Join the Trustees of Turn End, on a walking tour of Cambridge Art and Architecture. Meet at Kettle’s Yard, the University of Cambridge’s modern and contemporary art gallery, for a private tour of the house, then visit Accordia, the Stirling Prize Winning Housing development by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and discover the Architecture, Landscape and Spaces around them and the story behind the creation of this pioneering housing design. This short walking tour will also include significant 20th and 21st Century Cambridge Architecture.

This is a walking tour of Cambridge. Please bring your own picnic, drink and suitable footwear!

Meet at Kettle’s Yard. Please note around three-quarters of the House is not accessible to wheelchair users. Please click here for more details on Access and Getting to Kettle’s Yard.

£50 (Friends: £45)

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Shorter days and cooler nights trigger the autumnal change in the garden and many plants begin to take on ruby tints. Stunning grasses are at their best, their airy flowerheads swaying in the wind and catching the afternoon light. Tender cannas and dahlias continue to add hot colours to containers and borders. With limited ticket numbers, enjoy a leisurely stroll to explore the many different areas of the garden or find a secluded place to unwind. Visit the studio of Artist in Residence Heather Hunter. Heather specialises in paper art, printing and artist’s books and often uses Turn End garden as a resource.

£6.00 (Friends: free, Children (5-16 years): £3.00, children under 5s: free)

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A very special opportunity to visit 2 houses on the Turn End estate. Turn End and Middle Turn have a similar plan around a courtyard garden and the same simple and honest use of materials with quarry tiled floor, exposed timber beams and white painted blockwork, but they all enable much personal creativity and individual expression by the occupants in terms of decoration and use of the living spaces. Explore Turn End's own Grade II listed garden and visit the studio of Artist in Residence Heather Hunter, located on the Turn End estate. Teas and homemade cakes. Books and home-grown plants for sale.

£20 (Friends: free, Students with ID card: £15, 5-16 years: £5.00, Under 5s: free)

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Late summer brings fiery colour to the garden including gladioli and tender plants such as dahlias and cannas. Our collection of Begonias thrive on these balmy days, protected from the heat of the sun in the deep shade of the Coach House. With limited ticket numbers, find a cool place to relax or explore the many different areas at leisure.

£6.00 (Friends: free, Children (5-16 years): £3.00, children under 5s: free)

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Join us for a private tour of Tom Stuart-Smith’s world-renowned garden at The Barn, in Serge Hill in Hertfordshire (Sergehill Lane, Bedmond, Hertfordshire, WD5 0RT).  Visit the Barn Garden and the Plant Library, which holds more than 1200 different varieties of mainly herbaceous plants, then visit Serge Hill, a Regency house situated next door to The Barn Garden, set in beautiful parkland with a walled garden planted by Kate Stuart-Smith (Tom’s sister).

10.30am, an introduction from the Head Gardener to both gardens.  Explore at leisure Barn Garden and the Plant Library (approximately 2 hours) and Serge Hill (1 hour).

Tea/Mint tea fresh from the garden, coffee and cake.  (Please plan for lunch after you depart the gardens, as there are no catering options nor picnic areas).

The gardens are situated around narrow lanes and as such, there is limited car parking.

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£60 (Friends: £55)

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The verdant midsummer garden is a delightful place to find a cool, shady spot or explore the flowering delights including lilies, agapanthus and everlasting pea. Enjoy the quiet trickle of the fountain in the office courtyard or brave the heat to explore the myriad plants in full growth in the dry garden. With limited ticket numbers, enjoy a leisurely stroll around the different garden ‘rooms’ or find a quiet place to relax. Visit the studio of Artist in Residence Heather Hunter. Heather specialises in paper art, printing and artist’s books and often uses Turn End garden as a resource.

£6.00 (Friends: free, Children (5-16 years): £3.00, children under 5s: free)

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Join Turn End Trust for a rare opportunity to visit inside two built projects in Buckinghamshire designed by Peter Aldington and his practice Aldington and Craig in the 1960s and 1970s. The properties (which include Middle Turn and one never open before to visitors) exhibit principles for which the practice is known including open planning and the linking of indoors and outdoors, village houses that are sympathetic to their locality yet make a striking contribution to the environment, and the simplicity, directness and honesty of building and materials. We will also explore Peter Aldington's own garden at Turn End with the gardener, Jackie Hunt, (where we will picnic). The tour includes a visit inside the building where Peter ran his practice in Haddenham. Originally a bakery, Peter converted the historic building into office and studio space which still retains the features he designed.

This is a walking tour of the village and we will look at the historic buildings, ancient witchert (mud) walls and village that informed Peter's design for his own home and garden. Guests are welcome to drive between the most distant locations using their own transport. Peter Aldington will not be on the tour.

Please bring your own picnic, drink and indoor shoes!

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£52 (Friends: £45)

Join as Friends (Individual £35/Joint £45) and enjoy free entry to House and Garden Open Days and free/discounted entry to other events.

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By kind permission of Mrs Jane Rennie and Mrs Serena Aldous

Join us for a really special private visit to two contrasting gardens in Buckinghamshire, each with captivating stories.

Arrive at Abbots House Garden for morning coffee, followed by an introduction from owner Mrs Jane Rennie before exploring the garden at your leisure. Then depart for Steeple Claydon to visit Kingsbridge Farm. Mrs Serena Aldous will give an introduction to her garden prior to a delicious two-course luncheon in the converted barn. Then explore the garden at your leisure.

Abbots House Garden is a garden set in approximately ¾ acre and consists of five "rooms" divided by steps; a yard and courtyard,  lower lawned area with pond, upper woodland area, swimming-pool garden and a Victorian walled garden with glass houses, potager and wild meadow. The rooms provide a variety of micro-climates and habitats for plants and wildlife.  Jane was a horticultural student at The Royal Botanical Gardens Kew in the 1980s and her best time was spent working in the Temperate House and Nursery.  Her favourite plants still tend to be semi-hardy species from Mediterranean zones and herbaceous perennials and these flourish in her garden.

Kingsbridge Farm sits low and mellow under a warm tiled roof. The garden, created and cared for by its owners over the last 33 years, mirrors the house (not open).  The garden includes a gazbeo, rose arbour, an array of shrub roses, pleached hornbeam with far reaching viewing across a haha to the countryside, stunning herbaceous beds, a pool area and a beautiful, planted woodland walk with stream meandering through.

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Two course luncheon (and wine by donation), served in the converted barn

£55.00 (Friends: £50.00)

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NEW to the Turn End events programme, and in association with Buckinghamshire Garden Trust are two "Tree Treasures" walks.  At Turn End, trees, the house, ancient walls and historic buildings reside close together and this walk, led by arboreal expert Michael Hunt, along with Turn End's gardener Jackie Hunt, will explore the specimen trees that define Turn End’s vertical gardening.

Although less than an acre in size, Turn End's garden contains dozens of mature trees and large shrubs including Ginkgo, cherries, birches, walnuts, beech, apples, pomegranate, a range of conifers and a magnificent giant sequoia.  Michael will explain a range of fascinating facts including where plants originate from in the wild, botanical information and uses.

There are two guided, two hour, walks – one at 11.00am and at 2.00pm.  

£15.00

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SORRY, THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT. Please sign up to the WAITLIST

A very special opportunity to visit 2 houses on the Turn End estate. Turn End and Middle Turn have a similar plan around a courtyard garden and the same simple and honest use of materials with quarry tiled floor, exposed timber beams and white painted blockwork, but they all enable much personal creativity and individual expression by the occupants in terms of decoration and use of the living spaces. Explore Turn End's own Grade II listed garden and visit the studio of Artist in Residence Heather Hunter, located on the Turn End estate. Teas and homemade cakes. Books and home-grown plants for sale.

£20 (Friends: free, Students with ID card: £15, 5-16 years: £5.00, Under 5s: free)

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The garden is a jewel box of colours in mid May. The last tulips and peonies can still be flowering, and early roses beginning to bloom. Stars of the May garden are the bearded irises, with their showy, velvety flowers. Our beautifully scented wisteria may also be coming into bloom and our tender plants will be out on display. With limited ticket numbers, enjoy the quiet seclusion of the garden and the dappled shady areas. Perhaps bring a book or take time to explore our fascinating, variously-planted borders. Visit the studio of Artist in Residence Heather Hunter. Heather specialises in paper art, printing and artist’s books and often uses Turn End garden as a resource.

£6.00 (Friends: free, Children (5-16 years): £3.00 children under 5s: free)

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Adults £5.00, children free

BOOKING ESSENTIAL. Tickets via the NGS website: https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/7598/turn-end

Entry time slots 2.00-3.15 and 3.15-5.00pm. Once in the garden visitors are welcome to stay until the garden closes at 5pm.

For over forty years Turn End has welcomed visitors for this charity open afternoon, which raises funds for nursing and caring charities. Explore Turn End's series of garden 'rooms' including the dry garden, the spring garden on the site of a Victorian orchard and sunken courtyard gardens (house closed). Late spring delights include bearded iris and early roses. Visit the studio of Artist in Residence Heather Hunter to discover her Artist's books and prints. Teas and home-made cakes sold for Christian Aid (cash only). Home -grown plants for sale (cash only). Please check our detailed events listing by clicking here for parking advice.

An introductory garden design course looking at the key principles of garden design in the acclaimed setting of Turn End house and gardens. Led by garden designer Deborah Lewis.

Tuesday 18th April, Tuesday 25th April, Tuesday 2nd May and Tuesday 9th May 2023, 10.00-12.30.

Using Turn End as an exemplary model for the integration of house & garden design, this course takes you from the house out into the beautiful series of garden spaces that comprise Turn End. The aim of this course is to help you find the potential in your own garden; to know your garden style and to have a far greater understanding of the principles of good Garden Design. We also hope to inspire you to be more creative in experimenting with your own garden at home. The course begins inside the house at Turn End; a place where the design of inside/outside is so integrated that each can be seen to elevate the success of the other. From here we continue into the private gardens where over four mornings we look at the key principles of garden design. Each week we spend part of our time outside looking at the variety of garden settings here in relation to the original design plans; so that you are able to ‘live’ the dynamics of good design. Includes morning tea/coffee.

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£185 for course held over four mornings. Course notes, refreshments and vision board materials are provided.

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The garden is a place of joy in mid spring, bursting with new life and colour from Tulips, cherry blossom, Fritillaries and perhaps early bluebells. It's a busy time of nesting for our resident garden birds including blackbirds, robins, wrens, great tits and red kites. Take a leisurely stroll through the different garden 'rooms' or rest and relax in a secluded corner.

£6.00 (Friends: free, Children (5-16 years): £3.00 children under 5s: free)

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Join us for our first online talk, ‘The mid-to-late twentieth century landscape designs of Preben Jakobsen' written and presented by Karen Fitzsimon.  Karen is a chartered landscape architect and horticulturist, former Trustee of Turn End Trust and a visiting lecturer at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. Karen was awarded the 10th Annual Garden History Essay Prize for 'Order in the Landscape: Rediscovering Preben Jakobsen'. The 55-minute long talk will be followed by a Q&A session.

Preben Jakobsen was an influential and leading landscape architect, theoretician and teacher who practiced in the UK from1961 to 1997. Whilst he worked across all landscape typologies he developed a particular specialism for the growing field of the office landscape. His projects were widely published and secured many awards. Jakobsen held permanent teaching posts at the Universities of Greenwich, Kingston and the original Hammersmith College of Art and through such positions influenced a generation of designers.

Jakobsen described himself as a "modernist landscape architect, plantsman, urban designer and photographer".  This talk will attempt to show you what he meant, and provide a taster of the beauty of his work through his effective integration of landscape and architecture.

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£6.00 (Friends £5.00)

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Photograph: © Hannan IMAGES