Powder-coated steel ships flat and folds along laser-cut lines to create a dynamic and comfortable chair. As skinny as a supermodel yet far more sturdy. Also available in copper. Shop the entire Real Good Collection. • Powder-coated steel seat and back • Painted carbon steel legs • Plastic glides on feet to protect surfaces Standard Shipping rates are 5% of your merchandise total. Modern chairs are shipped via Fed-Ex or common carrier (a freight company) depending on the overall weight of your order. If your order is shipped via common carrier, you will be contacted one to two days in advance to schedule a Monday through Friday curbside delivery appointment. Inside delivery is available for an additional $99 per order. Please note, delivery drivers do not walk dogs, cook meals or take off their shirts. Real Good Chair - Copper Real Good Felt Chair PadDownton Abbey, PBS’s hit period drama that has become essential Sunday-night viewing, has turned its setting, Britain’s Highclere Castle, into a television icon.
Here AD revisits the historic Victorian estate as it appeared in the January/February 1979 issue, long before it was chosen as the home of the fictional Crawley family.“I am the last link of the feudal system. I’ve done everything I possibly can to keep the ancestral home.” The present earl of Carnarvon, who is the sixth of that title, lives at Highclere Castle in Hampshire, one of the great country houses of England. He succeeded to the estate in 1923, on the death of his father, who financed Howard Carter and discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, in Egypt.Maintaining Highclere Castle has been a difficult challenge for Lord Carnarvon, who is the head of the Herbert family. When he succeeded, he inherited about 8,000 acres. Some he sold to pay inheritance taxes, and since then he has made over the remainder to his son, Lord Porchester, and his grandson—but kept for himself the castle and his stud farm, amounting to about 600 acres. There are nine different entrances to this domain, which has a circumference of 16 miles, with three lakes on the grounds, and 56 Cedars of Lebanon, planted a good bit over three centuries ago.
Pictures have had to be sold, family silver and a fine pearl necklace also, and over the years, some of the outlying parts of the estate. But Lord Carnarvon was determined not to sell the family seat, and the status quo is preserved. The red-and-blue flag still waves valiantly and proudly from the tower over the castle.In spite of the upkeep, life here has always been enjoyed in great style. Much attention is paid to detail. For example, when Lord Carnarvon gave a ball for a thousand guests in the 1950s, he wanted the house to be perfect. So the crenellations around the tower, which were falling apart, were reconstructed for the occasion in hardboard, and then floodlighted.Lord Carnarvon lives at Highclere with a staff of seven. He is now 80, and remembers well his childhood in this house that has been in the family since the 18th century. When he was a small boy, there was a basic resident staff of 23—including a maid whose life was spent concocting preserves.Lord Carnarvon went into the army when he was 18, and was posted to India with the Seventh Hussars.
The problems of inheritance taxes were devastating, yet he managed to invest a considerable sum in modernization of the castle. The time of the lamplighter, who had orders to fill 150 lamps, came finally to an end.Highclere has a long history. In the days of Edward VI, the Crown took possession of the manor on the site and granted it to another noble family. Over the generations it changed hands, eventually passing into the possession of the Herberts. At the end of the eighteenth century Henry Herbert was created first earl of Carnarvon. From then on, major construction was done: making a park and lakes and rebuilding follies. Later, enormous plantings of azaleas and rhododendrons were made, and then the third earl altered Highclere Castle to the condition it is in now. He turned the place from house to castle with the assistance of Victorian architect Sir Charles Barry. In the custom of the time, the designs were molded along the Gothic lines of the Houses of Parliament.“My ancestor asked for a really nice house to be built in bath stone,” explains the present owner.
“Barry said he couldn’t guarantee that it would last one hundred years, since the stone crumbles, but it is 133 years old now. The foundations are 16 feet deep, and so the castle will probably stand up for at least another 500 years.” The work took three years, and to bring the stone, oxen dragged cartloads 82 miles from the stone quarries near Bath.There is a vast library, for which books were originally bought by the yard. In the room is a fine Carlton House desk and also the table and chair at which Napoleon signed his abdication, on Elba. Legend says that scratch marks on the chair are from the emperor’s fingernails.Manorial courts were held at Highclere until the 18th century. The dusty muniments room gives clues to this. There are court rolls of the nearby Bartholomew Fair. The boxes full of documents, some of which have remained unopened for generations, give a tantalizing glimpse of the community as it once was. There are curious riddles too, such as exactly why the deciduous trees in the arboretum were planted in Masonic combinations.
Look out of one of the guest bedroom windows, and there on the ledge in proud pose sits a colossal heraldic black dog—iron banner in paw. It stands silent guard, as though it alone knows the secrets of the past. And that past was a splendid one.In the main living room there are paintings by Reynolds and Van Dyck, and the enormous pigskin sofa bears traces of scratches from gentlemen’s spurs. The study is filled with trophies and photographs from Lord Carnarvon’s lifelong interest in horse racing. In the hall, 400-year-old Cardoba leather was used in his ancestors’ time to cover the walls, and here banks of potted flowers are brought in from the greenhouses to delight the eye. Lord Carnarvon sums up his feelings for Highclere Castle, with obvious affection, saying, “It remains a joy to come back to.”Click here to tour Highclere Castle.Published in the January/February 1979 issue.A brand-new strategy to transform the life chances of those children who spend up to 18 months in care waiting to be adopted - a tenth of their precious childhood - has been unveiled by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan.
The announcement comes just months after a landmark intervention by the Prime Minister, where he announced new measures to double the number of children placed with their adoptive family sooner - halving the time they spend in care. The 4-year strategy - the first in a number of announcements that will revolutionise support for the most vulnerable children in our society - explicitly sets out for the first time how it will deliver a system where all children are matched with adoptive parents without delay, free from the shackles of council red tape. The plan also includes a new drive to boost the educational success of adopted children. For the first time ever, every single child adopted from care will have a designated teacher and ‘virtual school head’ who will provide tailored support to help children overcome trauma and give these young people the best possible education. Government will also provide £14 million investment for innovative local schemes that result in more children ending up in loving homes, such as Coram Cambridgeshire, which puts babies under 2 with foster parents who are also willing to adopt them, minimising delays.
And, to drive forward the new strategy, the government has today (27 March 2016) appointed Andrew Christie as the new Chair of the Adoption Leadership Board, who has more than 40 years’ experience on the front line in children’s social care. Andrew will work hand in hand with ministers over the coming months to make this plan a reality. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: Today’s strategy is a watershed moment - a new line in the sand. For the first time ever, we are explicitly setting out how we will transform the lives of our most vulnerable children by making sure they get the opportunities they deserve. We cannot stand by while children spend months in care waiting for their new family, when loving parents are available. We cannot preside over a situation where adopted children are less likely to do well at school than their classmates. And we mustn’t fail to take action against stifling red tape that stops councils from matching children with the families that are right for them.
This radical new vision will make sure decisions rightly prioritise children’s long-term stability and happiness, so that children are placed with their new family as quickly as possible - helping them fulfil their potential and get the very best start in life. Today’s announcement is a vital part of the government’s drive to improve life chances for the most vulnerable and extend opportunity to everyone, making sure every single child gets the best possible start in life. Radical reforms introduced by the government have resulted in a world-class adoption system with over 5,300 children adopted in 2015 - 72% more than in 2011. Yet over the last 2 years, the number of decisions for adoption has almost halved, meaning vulnerable children who would benefit from a permanent and loving, stable home are missing out on the childhood they so desperately deserve. At the heart of the government’s plan is a commitment to change the law at the earliest possible opportunity to make crystal clear that councils and courts must always pursue adoption when it’s in a child’s best interest - rather than with a series of short-term carers who can’t provide the support they need over the long term.
Today, the government has explicitly set out for the first time how this will become a reality. At the earliest possible opportunity, we will amend the criteria used by social workers and courts when deciding which placement is right for the child - prioritising the restorative care and long-term stability that adoptive placements can offer to those children who have often suffered from devastating, heinous abuse. This important change will tackle head on and overturn the damaging fall in adoption decisions which are letting vulnerable children down. The strategy also details how, by 2020, the government will: Children and Families Minister Edward Timpson, who grew up with around 90 fostered brothers and sisters including 2 adopted brothers, said: I have seen first-hand how vulnerable children can benefit from adoption, when it is in their best interests. We have to make sure they are getting the very best start in life and the opportunities all adopted children deserve, which is why today we are setting out our vision to end unnecessary delays, and get children into a loving and stable home sooner.
Today’s announcement also coincides with the appointment of Andrew Christie, Director of Children’s Services for the London Triborough, as the new Chair of the Adoption Leadership Board. Over the coming months, Andrew will work with government to drive forward significant improvements in the adoption system - ensuring all children benefit from life in a stable, caring environment in which they can develop and thrive. Andrew Christie, Chair of the Adoption Leadership Board, said: Having spent 4 decades working with some of the most vulnerable children in our society, I know how important it is to provide them with the support and stability they need to help them realise their full potential and guide them into adulthood. Today is an important milestone in our work to improve vulnerable children’s lives. This is the first time the government has set out its vision so clearly, and I’m delighted to be taking on this role, helping to realise these ambitions, ensuring that all children get a loving home without delay.