All that white and green: the order and joyous disorder of Wimbledon 2025
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BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Harmony Summit: Inside King Charles's fiery gathering that shone a light on his beliefs
It wasn't exactly a run-of-the-mill royal the sunny gardens of the Highgrove estate, I stood in a circle with King Charles and an eclectic group who were attending his first "Harmony Summit". We raised our arms in honour of nature as we stood around a fire, which was burning within a ring of over the fire ceremony, in which we rotated as we honoured the north, south, east and west and then Mother Earth, was an Indigenous leader - an Earth Elder - wearing a headdress and a dazzling robe of blue feathers.A conch shell was blown. Butterflies flew around the flowers. And, in a concession to modernity, as well as holding up feathers in a blessing for the King, the elder was reading his incantations from an were people reaching to the sky, wearing colourful face paint and elaborate necklaces, while I held my palms up self-consciously, melting in my M&S suit. The summit was a celebration the King's philosophy of harmony with nature - an inaugural event that the King's Foundation hopes will become a regular brought together representatives from Indigenous peoples, including from tribes in the Amazon, along with environmentalists, climate campaigners, organic farmers, herbalists, educators, crafts people and good measure, there was Dwight from the US version of The Office, or at least actor Rainn Wilson, a director of a climate change were other visitors from Amazon too. A film crew from Amazon Prime, making a documentary for next year, who were poring over every moment as the sacred smoke coiled up over the apple trees in King, in a light summer suit, spoke a few quiet words of welcome, wearing a circlet of feathers and a scarf that had been draped ceremonially around his shoulders. A humane, ruminative, humorous and quietly radical figure, he was at the centre of what he hopes will become the first of many such it raised the question - and perhaps opened a window - into what the King believes. What is this thoughtful man really thinking about?Harmony is the King's philosophy, it means that we should be working with the grain of nature rather than against it. Or "her" as, he describes nature, in his book on the subject, published in about the inter-connectedness of all life, infused with a strong sense of the spiritual, and the idea that the human and natural worlds can't be the philosophy that stitches together his many different pursuits - on the environment, climate change, sustainable farming, urban planning, architecture, protecting traditional craft skills and building bridges between different faiths. The King co-writes children's climate change bookKing Charles to feature in new Amazon documentary According to a source close to the King, it's "perhaps the single most important part of his eventual legacy", bringing together different strands of his work that might seem separate into "one philosophical world view about creating a better, more sustainable world for future generations".The King's views, including on the environment, were "once seen as an outlier, but now many elements have been accepted and adopted as conventional thought and mainstream practice, embraced around the world".In his book on Harmony - A New Way of Looking at our World, the King describes his purpose as a "call to revolution", and writes that he recognises the strength of the word. It's a broadside against a consumer culture, in which people and the natural world become commodities. He warns of the environmental threats to the future of the Earth. There's a call to protect traditional crafts and skills and also for a radical change in rejecting modern, unsustainable, exploitative forms of not avant garde, he's an avant gardener. If you go for a walk in Highgrove's gardens there are small hurdle fences, with wooden rods woven around posts. The King makes these himself and this idea of things being inextricably woven together seems to be central to book moves from the importance of geometry, with patterns rooted in nature, to the designs in Islamic art and the inspiring dimensions of Gothic cathedrals.A sense of the sacred in nature, as well as in people, seems to be an important part of this world lunch at the Harmony Summit, grace was said by the Bishop of Norwich, Graham Usher. The King's idea of harmony dovetailed with a very deep personal Christian faith, he said. "My sense is that he draws much of his energy and ideas from spending time in prayer and contemplation," said the said the King sees his role as serving others and a sense of this "is seen in how he is always keen to learn from other religious traditions, building bridges and fostering good relationships built on respect and understanding". Within strands of Christianity, the King is also said to be have been interested in the Orthodox faith and its use of icons. Highgrove itself has an example of the King's private sense of spirituality. There is a small sanctuary tucked away in the grounds, where no one else goes inside, where he can spend time completely alone with this must seem a world away from the ceremonial juggernaut of this week's state visit by France's President focus of this inaugural Harmony Summit was drawing on the wisdom of indigenous people, tapping into their knowledge and pre-industrial ways of working with Ray Mears was there to welcome representatives of the Earth Elders group, who work to defend the rights of "original peoples", who have become the threatened guardians of the natural world. They were wearing traditional headdresses, face paint and ornaments, in among the flowers and trees of Highgrove."People's selfishness has taken them away from nature. They can't feel the breeze, they're too focused on the clock," said Mindahi Bastida, of the Otomi-Toltec people in cacophonous modern world has broken our connection with nature, said Rutendo Ngara, from South Africa. She described our era as a time of "loud forgetting"."We all have egos and ambitions. I wanted to be an entrepreneur, I wanted to sell out," said Uyunkar Domingo Peas Nampichkai, from Ecuador, the co-ordinator for the Amazon Sacred Headwaters temptation for him was to sell his land for oil. He decided a different path and explained what "harmony" now meant to him."It's well-being for all human beings, all living beings, visible and invisible, it's Mother Nature… Everything is connected and there's mutual respect," he were people from forests and rivers who talked of the destructive pressures on them, from mining, oil and weren't pulling punches either. There were speakers warning of how "Europeans" had killed their people and another who said that the much-hyped COP climate change gatherings were full of empty promises that never delivered for grassroots Krenak, from Brazil, talked of rivers that that had been "erased by money" and seeing the dried-up, polluted waterways was like a much-loved "grandfather in a coma". But how can harmony work in such a discordant world?Patrick Dunne, who runs the educational Harmony Project which uses the concept in more than 100 schools in the UK, has been applying the principles in a place of extreme conflict, the war in been taking classes of children traumatised by the conflict, and reconnecting them with nature, taking them to parks and forests for a place to heal."Ukraine is a powerful example of a country that's in a war they don't want and they are losing a lot of people. It's terrible, there's a lot of pain and suffering. And they want harmony, a future of living well together, so the message of harmony really resonates there," he winningly wobbly with its crooked tiles and trees growing through holes in the roof of a shelter, is a lyrical sight on a summer's day. It's a model of harmony with does that message work, when you step outside into an often angry, noisy and brutal world?What makes the idea of harmony relevant, is that it puts ideas into practice, it's not just a "thought exercise", says Simon Sadinsky, executive education director at the King's Foundation, which teaches crafts skills to a new generation."It's not just a theoretical concept, it's not just a philosophy, it's grounded in practice," says Dr Sadinsky."There's a lot of awfulness going on in the world, it's hard to stay optimistic. You can feel completely powerless," says Beth Somerville, a textile worker who completed a King's Foundation she says the idea of "harmony in nature" inspires her work and helps to create things which can be both beautiful and functional, in a way that is "all connected"."It does drive me to carry on and have hope," she says.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Roxy Horner flaunts her figure in a red polka dot dress as she joins Lottie Moss, pregnant Georgia Harrison and Ella Morgan at the White Fox Heatwave party in London
Roxy Horner, Lottie Moss, Georgia Harrison and Ella Morgan were amongst those that led the glitz and glamour at tonight's White Fox Heatwave party in London. The girls stepped out in full force as they arrived at the event for a night full of summer festivities. Turning heads in their outfits, others who also arrived include Love Island's Molly Smith and Tom Clare, as well as Gabby Allen and Demi Jones. Roxy showed off her supermodel figure in a red and white spotty polka dot maxi dress, which she paired with pink heels and matching sunglasses. She was in good spirits as she arrived at the party, flashing a smile. Reality star Georgia, 30, who is expecting her first child with her boyfriend Jack Stacey, showed off her growing bump in a top and low-waisted jeans at the event. Reality star Georgia, 30, is currently expecting her first child with her boyfriend Jack Stacey The Love Island star looked stunning as she turned up to the showbiz party surrounded by her pals. Meanwhile Lottie Moss - Kate Moss' younger half-sister - was seen in a stylish sequinned leopard print number, which commanded attention. Her toned legs were on full show in the minidress, with Lottie, 27, keeping a low-key appearance with dark shades on as she made her arrival. Married At First Sight star Ella wore a neon yellow strappy cut-out dress, which showed off her supermodel figure. She looked ecstatic to be there as she turned heads upon her entrance. Love Island's Molly and Tom put on a loved-up display as they arrived to the lavish bash hand-in-hand. It comes after heavily pregnant Georgia took to her Instagram in recent months to share a cute bikini-clad first-trimester video taken before her first scan. The clip began with Georgia looking sensational in a stylish baby blue bikini and white lace beach trousers as she enjoyed a day at the beach. She then unbuttoned her trousers and cradled her tummy while lip-syncing to the popular TikTok audio: 'Are you real? I dunno, you seem a little sus.' She cheekily captioned the video: 'Me before I had my first ultrasound.' The star recently revealed she has a 'whole new drive' to change the world for the better - just weeks after announcing she is expecting her first child. The reality TV star explained in a new interview that she wants to make the world a better environment for her unborn baby to grow up in by continuing her campaigning on the issue of revenge porn. Georgia told OK! Magazine: 'I initially thought of my little sisters and brother when I was campaigning – hoping to make things different for them. 'Now, I have this whole new drive – I want the world to be a better place because I'm bringing my own child into it.' Georgia first found fame on reality series TOWIE in 2014 but her following grew thanks to her 2017 appearance on Love Island. The TV star, who's also appeared on The Challenge and Celebrity: SAS Who Dares Wins, returned to the dating series this year for Love Island: All Stars, where she made the final. Georgia met Jack, 33, on a dating app last summer and described her pregnancy as a 'beautiful surprise'. Georgia said: 'We both definitely wanted children, but we didn't quite plan on it this soon, we might've tried to have a fun summer beforehand! But once we'd taken it in, we realised this was the right time. The star added that it's 'amazing to have the gift of being pregnant', as so many people struggle for a long time and for some, the dream never comes true.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The conundrum at the heart of Tottenham's £55m Mohammed Kudus swoop - and why Thomas Frank has not been deterred, writes MATT BARLOW
The last time Mohammed Kudus was seen at Tottenham he was disappearing down the tunnel in disgrace after a red card leading to a five-match ban and a stern ticking off from his boss. It had been an eventful derby game for Kudus. He opened with terrific zeal, causing problems for Pedro Porro and firing West Ham ahead before Spurs replied with four goals inside half an hour and he lost his head.
