Gypsum Increases the pH of Acidic Soils. One mechanism in which gypsum can increase soil pH enough in some acid soils to sufficiently decrease the level of soluble aluminum to grow crops satisfactorily is replacement of hydroxyl ions from some clay lattices by sulfate ions.
Photo: Getty Images. Lesley Nicol, the actress who plays Downton Abbeyâs often-harried cook Mrs. Patmore, said she pestered series creator Julian Fellowes like he was Daisy about giving her character a man. After months of nudging, he relented. âHe was probably thinking, Oh, shut up already! I had asked so many times,â she laughed.
As the author of two books on the former residents of the country estate, the current Countess of Highclere, Lady Fiona Carnarvon (married to George Herbert, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon) has become the face of the real Downton Abbey.