Turtles-Paradise

On Saturday I visited Blenheim Palace. A huge stately home of the kind that was popular with the wealthy gentry of prior generations, Blenheim Palace is pretty much the opposite of everything minimalism and permaculture stands for. It took decades to build, frustrated and disappointed the people it was built for, and is now a massive cost to the current owner who has to let the general public come and tour it just to pay for the upkeep.

The lawns are huge vistas of rippling green – and lawns are a costly, troublesome status symbol. Prior to lawnmowers they would have to be trimmed by hand. I’ve no doubt they are still water-thirsty and demanding plants.

The fountains were numerous, the tiny hedge-maze already turning brown. The books were dusty and photographs were forbidden. Much of the land was empty, whilst elsewhere a flock of sight-seers were shepherded through a carefully designed tour.

There is no doubt that a lot of effort, money and time went into that palace. It was certainly impressive. But how much more impressive would it have been had the lawns been turned into a productive crop, the fountains into wells, the dusty long library into a school?

In short, how much better would it have been if all that effort, time and money had been turned to something useful rather than a giant status symbol?

See more photographs here.