Wayside Flowers

We decided half way through Sunday that we needed a bit of exercise. A rare weekend at home all to ourselves, had resulted in us both eating and drinking too much – the pre-dinner drink, together with dips and crisps which himself hadn’t been able to resist whilst doing his Saturday shop – the ‘Saturday fry-up’ so seldom enjoyed these days – the profiteroles afterwards ….. and then a cooked Sunday breakfast …… all these excesses had left their mark.

We justified all this by having done a great deal of work on the house and in the garden – clearing gutters, cutting back bushes, mowing the lawns etc., but still our tummies felt heavy, and in spite of dull skies and frequent showers, we donned our raincoats and took a roadside walk to avoid mud underfoot.

Walking a loop from our home necessitated covering a section of the seldom-used footpath along the A38, and to our great delight we discovered SO many varieties of wild flowers growing there. And this in spite of all the CO2 generated by the generally constant traffic using the road. Once we started taking note of the different varieties we were amazed at just how many there were. We’re born and bred townies, both, so are unfamiliar with the names of everything we saw, but here are a few of them.

........ and we harvested just a very few to enjoy back home .......

Sporty, Spritely, Cerebral Seventies!

‘’You’re hardly ever in!’ and ‘Your mobile’s never switched on’
‘No’ and ‘No’ I reply, and from what I hear from my contemporaries, we oldies are all tarred with the same brush. Having spawned, supported, savoured, sometimes suffered, shared, and scattered our so-special sprogs, we find ourselves at a stage when we have just about enough energy to go and do our own ‘thing’ before time runs out.

So it was this week. We have just spent a couple of fun-filled days at Mary and Lewis’ lovely cottage right by Marlow Bridge. Mary is a superb cook, Lewis keeps a great cellar, and they are the best of hosts. The most delectable dishes appear on the table with seeming ease, conversation and laughter come thick and fast, and we finally totter back across the lawn from their luxurious summerhouse a little tiddly (well, a lot tiddly really) to find our way up to our bedroom sometime after midnight.

But that isn’t all we do ……. Though it ought to be more than enough for persons of our advancing years. After a ‘light lunch’ and wine we played a couple of 9-hole rounds of golf at their nearby Bisham golfcourse – its narrow fairways along the banks of the Thames making it more challenging than might be supposed. We braved showers of rain, but remained chirpy and determined throughout – even though the two ‘boys’ beat us ‘girls’ by a couple of holes.














Next morning we were up betimes and on Marlow Bridge at 9a.m. to watch the ‘Swan Upping’ – a delightfully olde-English tradition featuring red and white uniformed Swan Uppers, and gentlemen from a City Livery Company quaffing glasses of something suitably sustaining on the riverside lawns of the Compleat Angler Hotel before rowing off down the river, swan-bedecked flags flying.

After a healthy and nourishing breakfast (preceded by a couple of Alka Seltzers), we drove off up to Waddesdon Manor near Aylesbury. I had expected something on the lines of a sprawling country manor house, but found instead an enormous French-style chateau. I should have known better – it was the home of the Rothschild family before being bequeathed to the National Trust.

The vast gardens were full of statuary, topiary, fountains, and glorious flowers, as well as the most splendid aviary I have ever set eyes on. The fine sunny day made wandering round the estate a real pleasure, and then of course we needed to refuel at the Manor Restaurant……. delicious, thankyou Lewis.

The interior of the ‘palace’ (for it was nothing short of that) was just mind-blowing. Such chandeliers, such furnishings, so many glorious paintings by all the great masters, such fabulous ceramics, and so so many wonderful treasures …… it was totally stunning and truly magnificent. We even got to tour the Rothschild wine cellars, a catacomb of delight for we who consider ourselves ‘buffs’

People complain of this still being a class-ridden society. But just 100 years ago, only the privileged few would have been able to enjoy those opulent, totally sumptuous surroundings, whereas now we old-timers, as well as the world and his wife (and children) can roam such places for the price of a National Trust ticket. Indeed there is now a terrific Woodland Playground for children of all ages, which the Rothschilds would certainly never have dreamt of.

Such is the tenor of our days now that we have reached the rather pleasant plateau of the third age. It’s a great life, which we shall continue to take delight in until we’re ‘sans everything’.

Thankyou Lewis and Mary for such a happy time ……..and we look forward to your return visit with great pleasure.

'Dearest Daddy'

Such a happy Fathers’ Day – with cards, presents and telephone calls from as far afield as Australia, Wales, and Scotland, we drove down to Hampshire at lunchtime where Kim, bless her, gave her Daddy a very special day.

A ginormous coffee cake on arrival, strawberry picking in nearby fields with the family, a superb chicken meal with potatoes and asparagus freshly gathered, then his favourite desserts – treacle tart, AND a monumental strawberry meringue …… what a Happy Daddy.

It was a real pleasure to savour the teenage grandkids – it’s a cliché, of course to comment on how they’ve grown, but all seem to have matured considerably since we saw them (only a couple of months ago), and they are all ripening into full-flavoured, fruity adults of the rarest and most exceptional variety!

A bowl of huge and colourful roses on the kitchen table, strolling round the garden this morning in the sunshine surveying the vegetable plot, decamping with some of the cake and tart, strawberries, and a batch of freshly laid eggs, then driving home across countryside exuberant with elderflower in full bloom (reminding us of the fragrant home-made elderflower cordial we had so enjoyed last evening) …. Memories, as they say, are made of this.

Thank you all x

'All Things Bright ....'

On one fortnight every year, I am responsible for ensuring that our village church is kept clean and tidy, as are many other villagers in our Parish. This is not a particularly arduous task, much easier in fact than the fortnight during which I am responsible for cleaning the brass, of which there seems an inordinate amount..

This year it came at the same time as the AGM of our Village Hall Committee followed swiftly by the first meeting of the new Committee, which all involved much typing on my part, and long walks delivering first the Agenda, then the Minutes. So it was well into my fortnight before I found time to gather my Hoover, broom, dusters, dustpan and brush and sally forth.

Ours is just a quiet 13th Century country church, but it is its setting which makes it rather special. It sits in a sheltered bowl with hills rising all around, part of an area designated as of Outstanding Natural Beauty. When I clattered the lych gate shut, and struggled up the path with my cleaning equipment, a couple of horses in a paddock just beyond the churchyard looked up with mild interest, their chestnut coats gleaming in the summer sunshine. Cows grazed contentedly in the fields beyond, and the few houses scattered along the hillsides seemed to be dosing peacefully in the warmth of the sun.

I love having this ancient church all to myself for a while, and go about giving it a mini-spring-clean with great enthusiasm, singing much-loved hymns to myself and glorying in the tranquility of the place. I imagine all the many happy occasions this old church has seen over hundreds of years, the simple Baptisms, the country weddings, the Christmas Services. And I ponder too on the tears shed here, and the sorrowful prayers, and the comfort that only a holy place such as this can provide.

I remember too a very happy time, when I brought two of our young grandchildren armed with their own dusters and brushes, to give me a helping hand. They swept and dusted with great enthusiasm, but to little avail, and merrily investigated almost every movable item in the church. When all was finished, the elder – Katy aged 7 - decided we should have our own little Service, that she would be Preacher, and her younger brother William and I would be the congregation. She had him hold up Hymn Numbers and we had to sing ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’ right through, before she told us to take our seats. She had picked up a Cross from a window ledge, climbed the steps to the pulpit, and her head and shoulders just about visible, remarked on the sadly small congregation for a church this size, before proceeding with her Sermon. ‘You see Jesus here on the Cross’ she exclaimed in high ecclesiastical style ‘Well, do you know he is NOT here – and where is He? – He is in our hearts!’ (She had obviously profited from her education at a Church of England Primary school in a village just across the Mendips.)

Whilst enjoying my normally solitary time in Church, I take great delight in reading the lovely things people write in our Visitors’ Book So many folk, it seems, take time to drop in when touring the area, and their comments are a joy. One however, made me smile this morning Obviously written by a child (named Laura) it read ‘Very Good. Bit smelly though’.….. obviously she had not appreciated what I consider is an essential element of old churches – its odeur d’antiquite – made up partly of a vague dampness, partly the lingering perfume of flower arrangements (as well as a touch of the remains of dead flowers) and partly, I think, for want of a better explanation, the Holy Spirit (though not the alchoholic kind!). It was good to see another little girl - Emily - had written on the following page ‘I think this church is brill’. Very reassuring!
When I had finished the inside of the Church, I went out to tidy up the Porch, noticing pinned on the old door a warning to keep it closed to stop the swallows and bats getting trapped inside. The swallows were greatly in evidence, swooping excitedly from their nest just inside the Porch, around my head, and out into the Churchyard. However, I couldn’t resist leaving the heavy door fixed open whilst I swept the flagged floor, and Hoovered the doormat, all the time to the accompaniment of much twittering from the agitated swallows who I took good care to exclude. I thought I owed it to Laura to give the church a blast of fresh air. And though she might not have agreed with me, I left the church, armed with my trusty tools, feeling it had that same nice clean whiff about it that our own home does after I’ve had one of my too rare housewifely purges!

'Wot - No Kangaroos?'

We two have been enjoying the mellowest of autumns – trees turning old gold and merlot red overnight, the satisfaction of crunching crisp leaves underfoot, and the still warm sun (21-23 degrees) lingering lazily in the endless cornflower blue of the Australian sky.. All this in the company of our three youngest grandchildren, and thanks to the wonderful hospitality and kindness of Jenny and our long-suffering and extremely nice son-in-law.

We are left with a kaleidescope of memories, which flash back into the mind randomly, in happy confusion. An endless variety of beautiful beaches, with miles of almost deserted golden-orange sand. Rolling white surf and clear, warm blue water. Katy and William trying to teach their 70 -year old Granna to boogie board, and succeeding in curing her lifelong fear of ‘going under’. Frolicking in the surf with Jenny – and coming up from under a huge wave to see her almost collapsed with laughter as I cleared my eyes and ears, to find one bosom had escaped my swimsuit!

Chilly mornings, and darkness falling at 5.30pm, but the rest glorious sunshine. A trip by local train into Sydney with Katy and William whilst their parents took a couple of much-needed days away in the Blue Mountains., with a ferry trip for a picnic at Darling Harbour by Darwin’s Endeavour. The fabulous play-park there with everything free …… and choosing gooey cakes for tea on our return to Wahroonga. A day at a local community fair – acrobats, bouncy castle,dog show,bands, dancers …… again all free ……where Jenny bought chinese dim sum which I had never had before (delicious). Picnics and barbecues at National Parks, beautiful gardens still full of colour in late autumn, a walk through a mangrove swamp, superb playgrounds for the children everywhere with paths for them to go full throttle on their scooters.
-

Then grown-up days out in Sydney, with lunch by the Opera House, and viewing the interesting small exhibitions at the Library of NSW, where for instance part of the original Schindler’s List was on show, and Captain Cook’s logbook. A chance evening at David Jones (their Harrods) to find ourselves dropping in on a special event for card-customers, being given champagne and luxury sandwiches … and a cookery demonstration by a TV/Sydney chef, Luke Mangan, where we got to eat bowls of the delicious recipes he cooked (large prawns, salmon steaks no less!) A trip to the Hawkesbury River where our trainin pulled up right by the river’s edge, and visits to local Malls for a bit of retail therapy. And Jenny so kindly letting us have the 4x4 (necessitating her walking some considerable way to collect the children from school) so that we could spend what she was rightly sure would to be the hottest day at Palm Beach by ourselves. Paradise …. Utter bliss…..swimming, sunbathing, enjoying the picnic Jenny also provided….. exploring the harbour just the otherside of the peninsular ….. and returning home to a super spag.bol. which Jenny had prepared (and with second helpings, polishing off what she had apparently hoped to save for the children next day!).

Not only was this a fantastic holiday, but also a lovely warm family time as well- we even got to meet up with our two Oz-based nieces. Being with our three youngest grandchildren was magic, lots of chances to put each of them to bed and read them stories …… and to sing songs with Katy (I had typed out the words to lots of old favourites – I even taught her to sing, and do, the Lambeth Walk). We played endless games of UNO, and we taught them Newmarket, using pebbles from the driveway as money, the winner and runner-up getting ‘sticky snakes’ William won almost every time, and Katy was nearly always second …… Granna with remarkable regularity was always last! We watched William play football for his local team, and sat in (perhaps not the right choice of words) on their swimming lessons, visited their school, and nursery, and chatted to their teachers. Katy helping us around the house whilst her parents were away, William’s amazing navigational skills when out and about, and playing games of ‘Wheeeeeeeeee!’ in the back of the car with Tom are all memories we will cherish.

Nothing could have been done to make us feel more loved and welcome ……. Jenny and Ally even gave up their own bedroom with its own private staircase and super luxury bathroom, to sleep makeshift in the study. Jenny put herself at our disposal for the whole three weeks, which made for a great deal of extra work and inconvenience, but she juggled husband, children and guests with cheerful aplomb.

THANK YOU ALL!! WE HAD A BALL!!

Off to Pastures New .....

Before we leave here for a few weeks’ absence in Australia, I feel I must just make a few notes about the garden, so that I can contrast and compare when we return home.

We have had several days of warm sunshine and blue skies – perfect for the Easter break – and spring has well and truly arrived in the garden. The magnolia has been full of flowers in spite of John cutting it well back last autumn as it was encroaching on the variegated holly beside it. The warm yellow of this bush always looks cheery when viewed from indoors on dull winter days, so we didn’t want it to be overwhelmed. Now that the magnolia is ‘going over’ the flowering cherry on the other side of it, by the front gate is just breaking into blossom – sadly we won’t be here to enjoy it in its full glory. Still we have had an abundance of forsythia, creating a sunshine screen along the side fence for quite a while, and now as it is dying off lots of bright green leaves are sprouting everywhere, so that very soon we will once again be fully screened from our neighbours.

Both gardens, back and front, are covered with forget-me-nots which I love because they so remind me of my Nannie who was very fond of them. Bluebells are coming into bloom all over the garden, except that none of them are actually blue, but a pretty shade of lavender. Primroses and primula abound, and we are delighted with our tulips, which were bought at knock down prices late last autumn.

Our bugbear are the dandelions! It seems to be a VERY good year for them, as they are growing profusely along the hedgerows, by the sides of roads, on roundabouts…… and in our lawns! John spent a lot of time last year carefully spraying poison on them, but this past week we have great splashes of bright yellow all over the lawn. We enjoy seeing them en-masse out in the countryside, but NOT in our garden, so John spent much of Easter Monday bent over each individual dandelion carefully digging it up, and then spraying the roots. So now there isn’t a speck of yellow to be seen in the grass ….for the time being …. and John’s back is slightly the worse for wear.

My purple sprouting broccoli plants have so far yielded up enough for four delicious meals, in spite of their distinct lack of size. They were held back by the cosmos plants my mother gave me, which grew to giant proportions and lasted far longer than I had expected, hiding the young broccoli plants from the light There look to be lots more ‘pickings’ on them, but sadly we won’t be here to enjoy them. In fact we will miss quite a lot of things in the garden – the peonies have big fat buds, about to burst, and the clematis is all set to flower. The little lilac plant my old schoolfriend gave me from her garden just before she moved after the sudden death of her husband, has this year got blossom forming for the first time – but I think I might miss that too.

One of the nicest things about this time of year is seeing all the trees and bushes turning green. All along the side of the field is a mass of misty soft green, and the two trees by the rhyne across from my studio window are also just beginning to show tinges of leafy life – they are always the first to lose their leaves in the autumn, and the last to splutter back into life. Even the old apple trees has little sprigs of fresh green leaves appearing along the gnarled old branches – but no sign of blossom yet. Something else we will miss whilst we’re away no doubt.

The robin who built a nest in our box hedge seems to have reared its young – we have seen a lot of activity with two robins dashing back and forth between the nest and the feeders hanging in the apple tree, and I have seen them with offspring. I took a look in the hedge today, for the first time, and saw the nest empty nest – I do hope all is well.

So far no cattle have arrived in the field beyond the rhyne, but looking at notes I made last year, they appeared on 29th April, so perhaps when we return we shall have some mobile scenery to gaze at out there. We have however, been interested to watch most mornings as we sip early morning tea in bed, or breakfast in the garden room, two people in the far field regularly walking a collection of dogs – who scamper madly about in what must be doggy paradise – AND two sheep, which always lumber along beside the the walkers. It is a curious sight, but the sheep don’t seem at all bothered by the excited dogs, so must be pets who are quite used to their un-woolly chums.

Well, the lawns were mowed yesterday, and all the flower beds were de-weeded and generally tidied up, so for now the garden looks extremely attractive and well-cared for……but we know of course that by the time we get back it will be a jungle once more, and will require a lot of attention. Still, what care we – we are going to be spending a happy time with our daughter and family on the other side of the world, and can’t wait to get there. They have only been gone since last July, but it seems a lifetime already, so we will leave this little piece of Somerset to get on by itself, and look forward to seeing what it has been up to when we get back.

SENIOR MOMENTS.

This bit of Pot Pourri is OUTSIDE a Somerset garden, but I have just had the most amazing few days, thanks to our kids.

On Friday evening John and I went over to the LIGHTS Theatre in Andover where Kim’s choir were doing a Concert. A group of about 20 adults – The Andover Museum Loft Singers – gave us such a great evening, singing folk songs old and new.in sweet-sounding harmony. They, and their two Conductors, were so enthusiastic and so obviously enjoyed their singing, that it was impossible not to delight in it too. Added to the mix, the Conductor and another guy – forming Belshazzar's Feast – played fabulous music together on flute, electric violin, and accordian, intermingled with a seemingly off-the-cuff comedy routine which had us roaring with laughter. Such great entertainment, and as parents we loved seeing our daughter perform. No matter what their age, we parents just burst with pride watching our progeny doing their stuff!

Then next day we were all at Thruxton Circuit where Kim and her family had booked me a Supercar Heaven Experience for my 70th birthday present. I had during the previous months been rather terrified about it all, but on the warm sunny day, with lots of family around, I felt really excited. After three laps in a saloon car with an instructor and two male students like myself being shown the track, and being fitted with a crash helmet, I was given one of the 9 gleaming red Porsche Cayman’s lined up in the pit. I moved nervously out on to the track, more worried about steering between the cones than thinking of my driving – ‘ you can move into second you know’ my Instructor murmured kindly. Knowing my great age he no doubt rather expected this old lady to take it all pretty carefully! However, once out on the track I really loved the feel of the car and went for it. As I drove out of one particular long corner (Church) for the first time, my Instructor actually gasped ‘That’s the best I’ve seen that driven all day!’ – I couldn’t have been more thrilled and drove with new found confidence . The chicane was my biggest challenge – I always came into it too fast and couldn’t then drive the necessary ‘line’ , but when we got back in the pits after 3 gloriously exhilerating laps, the Instructor beamed at me and asked what speed I thought I was doing out there and coming into some of the corners. ’40 – 60mph’ I replied ….. ‘in first or second maybe’ he spluttered. ‘ I watched the clock – you were doing 100 mph – better than some of the men’





So I trotted off well pleased with myself to experience the truly beauteous Aston Martin V8 Vantage – silky-grey with a black soft top – magnificent! I will NEVER forget the buzz I got when, having turned the key, I pressed the button and the engine roared into life. Hells Bells! However, this was quite a different beast, for it had no clutch or gear stick, just little metal levers on either side of the small steering wheel to move up and down the gears. Thus, when the Instructor told me to ‘Brake. Change Down’ there was a split second when I thought - ‘which lever is that?’ – and at those speeds there isn’t really time to think, just act. Still, it being my one chance to drive an Aston, on the last lap I really just put my foot right down, passed various Porsches and others seeming to dawdle round the track, and bubbled with excitement. I even managed to master the chicane the last time round, so came back into the pits to park the magnificent creature feeling on top of the world, and ended up with a 79% pass mark on my Certidicate, which I felt was pretty damn good. ...considering.



It was great having family there – John took a video, Martin took masses of photos which he’s making into an album, and Jon bought a couple of the official photos actually taken out on the track. To my delight you can see a huge smile on my face, though I was totally unaware of cameras. Afterwards Jon cracked champagne to celebrate and Kim produced a superb baked salmon evening meal for us all. We finished the evening watching a re-run of the Grand National to see which of us had won the Sweepstake (Martin)

Thankyou Kim and Martin for making me FEEL young again!

As if all this wasn’t enough, I had one more big treat in store. Jenny had booked me an Indian Head Massage and Spa session at Monty’s at Charlton House Hotel as a Mothers Day present. The roads over the Mendips are wonderful to drive on a good day, and I was in luck – scarcely a car to be seen, so I enjoyed driving my little red Jazz as fast as is legal, being familiar with every twist and turn of the road. It was lovely – but made me realise JUST how much faster I got to drive round the Thruxton Circuit.

I utterly adored the Indian Head Massage, which was THE most gorgeously relaxing experience. Luckily the therapist was behind me all the while, for I can imagine my face in freefall was not a pretty sight. But such bliss. Afterwards I was able to pop in and out of the various spa ‘rooms’ - be pummelled and soaked in the deliciously warm pool – and flop in my cosy bathrobe on comfortable sofas to read my book. All this on a Monday morning – such decadence.

Thankyou Jenny and Alasdair for helping me LOOK, if just for a short while, a bit younger again.

For anyone who imagines that at 70 life as you know it comes to an end……. I’m here to say that I find mine gets better and better., thanks to such a kind and thoughtful family. I really do appreciate that I’m a very lucky old(ish) lady indeed!