Dame Nellie Melba

Day 72 - Cycled to the Coombe Hill part of Kingston and back via Ham. A blue plaque for Dame Nellie Melba(1861-1931). She was born Helen Mitchell in Melbourne, Australia and did not begin her career that was to see her become the most famous opera singer of her day, until her mid- twenties. She accompanied her father on a business trip to Europe in 1886 and had the opportunity to sing in larger concert halls than those in Melbourne. Taking the name of Melba from her native city she made her operatic debut in 1887 in Verdi’s Requiem. She was the epitome of the larger than life prima donna. She died in 1931 from an infection resulting from a facelift! Melba Toast and Peach Melba both owe their names to her, they were created in her honour by the French chef Auguste Escoffier .

- did some sewing, made jeans into shorts and cut off sleeves of a a shirt
- planted nasturtium seeds at the allotment
- visited daughter and family, planted a cucumber for them.