John Eliot Gardiner comes from interesting stock. His father was a rural revivalist with an interest in naturism, his grandfather was an Egyptologist and his great uncle, Balfour Gardiner  was a composer, whose Evening Hymn is still a great favourite with Anglican choirs. Balfour Gardiner also established a farm in Dorset with which John Eliot is still involved. Apparently this involvement has earned the conductor the nickname “Uphill Gardiner” because of his unusual farming methods.