Keen to find fault
From Rupert Hambro
Sir: For some reason, Lady Mary Keen tries to be nasty about the Alnwick garden but ends up telling a story that is rather heartwarming (`Gardener's question time', 9 August). A duchess spends a fortune of her husband's money recreating a garden. What's wrong with that? People of all kinds flock to see it in their unexpected thousands, and soon it is by far the biggest tourist attraction in the North-East of England. What's wrong with that? So the family decides to donate the garden to a charity so it can go out and seek funds to expand. What's wrong with that? She tells Lady Mary Keen in an interview that she expects to win a large public grant because the regional development agency has recognised the garden's role in rural regeneration of a deprived area — recent figures show Alnwick is ranked 329th for employment and 342nd for income out of the 354 local authorities in England. What's wrong with that?
Jane Northumberland deserves better.
Rupert Hambro
London SW1
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