Get ready for a cheese rolling bank holiday with a Metal Design Furniture dining table
Next week is the late May bank holiday, which means time off work to spend with the family, hopefully in the sunshine, for all of us. However, if you happen to live near Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, this holiday means a very unusual tradition as well!
For many years now, locals in this pretty village have congregated to chase a 9lb sphere of Double Gloucester cheese down the hill, with the first person past the finish line as the victor.
This madcap pursuit is rumoured to have started out either as a way to decide grazing rights on the hill, or as part of a pagan tradition of rolling objects which also saw bundles of burning brushwood sent down hills in order to symbolise a new year dawning after winter.
Although hazardous as times, the cheese rolling is hugely popular, with crowds of as many as 2,000 gathering to watch the race, the winner of which is expected to perform a shirtless dash back up the hill to place the cheese on its ceremonial plinth.
We don’t necessarily recommend that you try this at home! But if instead you feel like treating yourself to a lovely table full of cheese and biscuits to welcome in the start of summer, how about having a look at our range of dining tables? Our Castrum Fused Glass table, starting at £522, is the perfect size for a sophisticated cheese-board. Or, if your family is more the outdoors type, how about laying out a fromage feast on our Oliver Garden table, which starts at just £175? Whichever you decide to go for, there’s a Metal Design Furniture table which can support even the biggest cheese!
How About a Bespoke Laser Cut Fence?
Have a look at this elegant yet understated laser cut fence we recently designed and made for a house in North-West London. Using a classic design of an English rose, the fence makes the house the envy of all the neighbours. The gate includes a humorous reference to Number 10, making it clear that people of great taste and importance live here!
This gorgeous fence was custom designed and made. If you want to make the front of your own house this unique and beautiful, contact us and we would be more than happy to work with you to design something for your own abode. We can make any pattern or size that would fit both your house and your heart’s desire. Perhaps you might want your initials or your family crest, or your favourite flower. You might even want to go for something a bit more abstract. We’re open to suggestions.
If you would are interested in talking to us about creating a fence like this for your own home, then contact us to have a chat about what we could do for you. We’ll be happy to hear from you!
Buy pieces from our Oliver garden furniture collection and get a free plant stand
Spring is in the air and it’s making us feel generous here at Metal Design Furniture!
With the weather hotting up and the summer holidays on the way, it’s time to start thinking about outdoor entertaining. And how better to keep your family and your friends comfortable while they’re enjoying the sights and scents of your garden than in some items from our affordable and elegant Oliver collection? 
Oliver tables come in a range of shapes and styles and are suitable for outdoor or indoor use. You can complement these with a choice of chairs, with or without armrests and cushions. Have a look here for more information. All our Oliver pieces are Tuscan-inspired and built to last, so will keep your garden looking stylish for many years to come.
Another option is to go for the Oliver six-seater set, which features a hardy garden table as well as six comfy chairs. Available in a range of colours and patinas, the set starts at a very reasonable £845 and will keep the fussiest of families in al fresco dining comfort.
The best news of all is that if you buy a table and four chairs from our Oliver collection this week, we will give you this plant holder, worth up to £59, absolutely free! You can take your pick of a 22cm or 30cm diameter, whichever fits into your space more perfectly is yours free of charge when you purchase from our Oliver collection.
Now if that doesn’t put a spring in your step, we’re not sure what will!
A closer look at garden gazebos
From BBQs to birthday parties, from music concerts to family meal times, everything is better when it can happen outside! The children can run barefoot on the grass, and we can all enjoy the sun on our faces. However, whether you need to shade from the sun or hide from the rain, a gazebo will always make an outdoor gathering a little more weather proof.
Gazebos are picturesque structures set outside, usually in parks or other public spaces, and often octagonal or turret-shaped. Amazingly, they have been around for several millennia, having been traced back to some of the earliest gardens in existence. They are mentioned in the early literature of China and Persia, and were common in Egyptian gardens of some 5,000 years ago. Some Egyptian royalty even considered their gazebos to be earthly paradises, which they wished to take to the afterlife with them.
Some of the early Persian gazebos were very opulent structures, boasting two floors, marble columns and even streams running through them to keep them cool. Impressive stuff! France and England joined in the gazebo craze in the 14th and 15th centuries. Famous British gazebos include those at Montacute House in Somerset, and Eton Hill in Nottinghamshire, both of which are worth a visit.
Of course, gazebos look great in private gardens as well as public spaces, and there’s a wide range of high quality, gorgeous gazebos to suit all price ranges available from Metal Design Furniture.
The Paris Gazebo is a particularly luxurious and elegant piece, which has the option to include a stylish wooden bench. Or if you’re tastes are a little simpler, why not go for the simple Classico Pergola, which you could use to create a green, growing roof over your garden. Whatever your tastes, there’s a Metal Design Furniture gazebo for you.
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