Crux fidelis, inter omnes, Arbor una nobilis: Nulla silva talem profert, Fronde, flore germine: Dulce lignum, dulces clavos, Dulce pondus sustinet. Amen. Words attributed to Venantius Fortunatus (c.530-609)

A video for this piece can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU2E_lrxfW0&feature=youtu.be

Lyrics: Three hundred years ago this year, was born in Kirkhale Town A bonny bouncing baby boy to Mr & Missus Brown. They thought and thought of a name to give to their precious tiny tot, And the name they came to decide upon was Lancelot! From a humble start he was to play his part (And what a wonderful part it was): The re-creation of the landscape of the nation And it all took place because He used the skills he had: he never sat around doing nowt. Like him WE’VE ALL GOT TALENT! That’s why we sing about – Lancelot (Lancelot) – Mr Capability Mr Brown – Mr Brown – Mr Capability What a lot – never stopped – not a jot He made a lot – what a lot – Redefining the gardens of England and changing the landscape for ever! Lancelot (Lancelot) – Mr Capability Mr Brown – Mr Brown – Mr Capability What a lot – never stopped – not a jot He made a lot – what a lot – Old Mr Brown will always be renowned for his English Country Gardens! [Capability Brown designed:] Croome and Ragley and Savernake Forest and Charlecote, Caversham, Compton Verney and Sherborne, Longleat, even Warwick Castle and Claremont (Surrey) and Castle Ashby and Petworth, Packington Park and Woburn Abbey and Cardiff Castle, Hampton Court and Belvoir Castle, Burton Constable… did we mention Croome at Pershore? And… Dodington park! Even Warwick Castle! And Temple Newsam! Hevengham Hall and Grimsthorpe Castle… did we mention Croome at Pershore? And… Lancelot – Mr Capability – Mr Brown Lancelot built a lot Lancelot – Mr Capability Capability Brown is our inspiration. He built gardens across the whole nation: We can move mountains too! With a Ha-Ha here and a Ha-Ha there, Here a Ha, there a Ha – everywhere a Ha-Ha! Rap: “Mr L. C Brown, a man of great renown, Well-known around town, nobody puts him down! He wears the Gardening Crown. There ain’t nobody better A real trendsetter A man who could never let a Fussy tidy hedge replace a nice, curvy edge ‘cause he was Realising dreams, moving hills and making streams. A real innovator, a major game-changer A self-made man and a landscape re-arranger. Practical, resourceful, strong and visionary The greatest revolution in the whole of Garden Hist’ry. By getting all mechanical he managed things botanical And through his engineering helped the future start appearing! Now the Lesson we can learn from the work of this fella, is that We can make a real change by ‘pulling it together’ – if we Grab opportunities and really do our best – if we Use all our talents and we never never rest – if we Work hard to make things the best that they can be, then we’re Learning a lesson from Capabiliteeee…..