Two Horses and an MP walk down an avenue

Two Horses and an MP walk down an avenue….. That sound like the start of a joke, but not this time.  Today two of my current photographic projects came together. I’m working on a project called River: The life of the Arcadian Thames as well as the Last Herd, on the Royal Parks Shires. This week the horses have been working with volunteers from Thames Landscape Strategy to cut the grass and cow parsley on the Avenues, these are the old rides and walks that radiate from the National Trust property at Ham House.  The local MP Zac

Goldsmith is well known as an environmental campaigner, and today he met with the volunteers and staff of TLS and operation Centaur to see the great work both groups are doing for our local environment in maintaining these treasured assets. Also there where one of the local councillors, Jean Loveland and Naomi Campbell of the National Trust, who runs Ham House.  it’s quite amazing to see how the shires make light work of the mowing and see the volunteers working hard to pile up the hay ready for it to be picked up when the horses bring the Dray down to collect it.  The volunteers all work for Booking.com who give staff a paid day to do community work, which is a great initiative that some other firms emulate, it would be good to see this spread.  In the group picture below we have Monique Back, Tom Nixon Aragon and Roy(al) of Operation Centaur,  Zac Goldsmith MP, Cllr, Jean Loveland, Jason Debney of TLS and Naomi Campbell of the National Trust.  Also from Operation Centaur is Ed McDowell who is driving the team.