Grandma's Birthday Lunch in June

We went to see my mum for lovely lunch and a spit in the sea.
Rather a grey day but much fun had.

Gots to put yer lipdick on says P.

Lots of silliness but an excellent lunch. The girls were amazingly catered for and do you know, I now know, that if you are a veg you see an awful lot of goats cheese and rocket.

This is family.

Do you think the daisy's just happened like that?
I took all my lavenderherb out last year and I am really missing the bees as a result. May be I need to plant a variety like the above that shoots up rather than out.

This little warren of cobbles is now shut to the public, I hope to re seed or similar and not for health and safety. I spent an early childhood running up and down here or just sitting at the top, wondering about stuff when I took the dog for a walk on the weekends.

It's a monument to brave little birds.

 A hole in the walk way!? at least they match the railings. A HOLE!

Happy Birthday Mum, I know it was a summer ago but I am just catching up.
Love you

CM

Which one are you?

Colin or Matthew?

Well I, along with a lot of other middle age ladies clearly didn't really give a stuff until the
pond & horse scene and then was firmly in the Colin camp.

Then many years later came the film and I'm Matthew all the way, except for in that most important of scenes where he tells Elizabeth that he loves her, I love you, most ardently, and it's just too painful to watch, but it is getting better over time.
Luckily to save one of my most mucked up scenes in history there is enough grey paint, wet wool and white linen along with the interior of Mr. Collins humble abode with all it's sparseness too melt my heart along with the scene, a letter to Elizabeth.


If you visit the Winchester Cathedral gift shop you will stand in front of floral display, a homage to Jane Austin and in particular to the BBC's lavish 1995 production of Pride and Prejudice. 
I remember watching it and I loved it.
But after all these years are they really still able to turn a buck off it?!

Clearly yes as G's mum bought these for me a belated birthday present as I was umming about the price and you couldn't have one without the other.

 Can you see the resemblance?

I love them so much I am going to put them on the tree at Christmas.

In case anyone wanted to know I prefer the film. The characters are much nicer to look at and that is saying something because we all know I am not keen on tie Me Up Tightly Keira Knightly and I think I listen to the sound track at least once a fortnight.

Off for tea and that really is the last Winchester post unless we move there.

CM

Winchester Cathedral

Last bit about Winchester.

St. Swithun is the Patron Saint of Winchester and as we were there on the day we took in a sung mass conducted with the Bishop and whats more all the choir boys in red and white were there too. We sat up in the posh seats and I don't mind telling you when those boys sing it brings tears to the eyes, it doesn't matter what you believe in, it's AMAZING.
But for all the big guns in embroidered gowns, there were only twenty or so punters in attendance and two of those had been at breakfast at The Old Vine, see prev post.
So if a Cathedral can't pull them in then I don't know how the rest of the churches in the country are coping, well I do actually because I work for one but it was an eye opener.

Anyway this is what it looked like.

Who doesn't love a cross stitch kneeler?

The girls on the whole were really well behaved.
Having a well equipped play park close by to keep them occupied in the evenings I am sure helped.

T cried when it was time to leave.
On further questioning it appears that she liked the simplicity of our break away and the accommodation was light bright and airy as opposed to the clutter and oppressive grey she has to live under at home.

We are decorating the hall way, the first time since I moved in some seventeen years ago.
It's brilliant white. I think T has a point, there were lessons to learn.
I am feeling -  there is only one life you don't get another one - do I really want to fill it with the things I never use or shall I just get out there and see some things.

CM

Winchester

G and I want to move to Winchester and here are a few reasons why.

We stayed at The Old Vine and it is right on the Cathedral Square. We stayed in the annex which came with a parking space that we just about fitted into.
It was lovely.

I don't think anything drove up this street the whole weekend.
I can't rate the service highly enough, clean, best breakfast, so friendly. They put a jug of milk in the fridge for the girls to have. Nothing seemed a problem not that we had any.
Ear plugs in the bed room. Why? it's so peaceful. Cathedral bells practice happens on a Monday morning for an hour!
And you see all those complimentary bits in the bath room, the girls used those slippers without hesitation.

With all the activities over the weekend we had a look round on the Monday.
Who loves a paperie!

No need to have a crappy paper cup ever again, but you might need a large wallet. I have two sheets of wrapping paper, ballet dancer cake decorations and a bird broach but I could have easily parted with £7 for cup cases but I'd need three different types and when do I make that many cup cakes.

This treasure shop is called  THE HAMBLEDON

So G and I looked on Right Move at house prices and if we get shafted with secondary school places for T then we will pick up and move to Winchester because it's lovely.

CM

Dowton Abbey at Highclere Castle

Ok
Been a while and I am a little behind. We carried on from the Lavender Farm and stayed for the weekend in Winchester which I am now ready to move too.

We bought a birthday visit for G's Mum to Highclere Castle as she and G are fans of Downton Abbey and Highclere is where they film the show.


The Earl and Countess of Carnavon open their home to visitors and if you want a ticket you have to be on IT. We checked in the New Year, the tickets went on Sale in February and we set an alarm on our phones and got tickets for June and were lucky with that and the weather.

We went for the day and our ticket allowed us in the house for the afternoon.
It's not as big as you think, it's really rather comfortable and it springs up on you.

This is from around the side.

 The gardens are lovely.

If I was in the area or lived locally I'd by a ticket for the grounds take a picnic sit under one of the many shady trees and let the girls run around.

The house is a strange one, these are my forbidden photos.
T was horrified with me but taken with the rocking horse.

The house is a self tour, there are roped off areas and a few guides to tell you anything you might want to know about the Castle not the show.

They have beautiful arrangements of geraniums in the house that look like clipped bonsai although the guide thought they looked a little tired. She also told me that the family live in another house on the estate but use the Castle for Christmas, parties, the races etc.

I can't describe it, it's like Barbara Morris house, a tale for another time, it's set up for guests.
It's got rugs, it's got pattern, it's got floral and it's full of those things that you have no idea where they come from.
There is a 80's hairdryer on every dressing table along with a small basket of complimentary toiletries of no fixed origin. There are family photos everywhere in chunky family frames and lots of books, especially design ones from Conran etc, again all from the last century.
Lots of man novels and if there is a table in a corridor someone has put a vase on it and there might be an old bit of potpourri in the bottom.
All this info was gathered at great pace as I had the girls with me.

I liked it!

Cup of tea at the end of the tour.

What else would you do with the sugar.
Those ladies behind are sitting at the largest kitchen table  have ever seen, a bit jealous of that piece. It was covered in a really posh linen oil cloth and to be honest it could have been a snooker table.

It is a really lovely day out.
Is it time to revisit the blue hydrangea?

GIFT SHOP.

I like a printed candle in Autumn. The Wild flower mix can go under our pear tree and the pencils were the best thing in the gift shop. There were none on display but I explained that I had seen them on the online shopping page and had they stopped selling them. She retrieved a box from the back, what great service.
I am good in a gift shop. I like the badge, who knows if I will wear it but I think I will.

You can't go to Highclere and not look in the house. Now I have I don't need to see inside again but the grounds I'd visit again and again.
It should be noted that most of the visitors are made up of a certain type of lady that watch the show and these ladies need to pay a lengthy visit to the toilet,  so you should not leave it to the last minute to go for your wee.


CM