Tuesday 8 May 2018

Clearing the Camera!

At the risk of being terribly British and talking about the weather ....... what a scorcher of a Bank Holiday weekend we had! All was going fantastically well, until we woke up one morning and no water came out of the taps! It turned out that there had been a problem at a water treatment works and the water had to be cut off whilst it was dealt with. As it was an emergency, we had no warning and so no opportunity to fill kettles etc. Luckily, huge tankers began touring the area to supply us with the necessary, but given that it was a really hot day, they ran out rather quickly. I don't normally have much to do with bottled water, but a trip to the supermarket was called for and, naturally, by the time we arrived home with 8 huge bottles the supply was back on, so they're now cluttering up my larder! 

Anyway, I suddenly realised that my camera was getting rather full, so here is a quick run through what we've been up to for the last few weeks. In no particular order ...........

More decorating. This time E's bedroom. She used to have a cabin bed that she had been complaining about for a while (too near to the ceiling so she couldn't sit up now that she's bigger, and too creaky!). So we took it down, I painted her room and shampooed the carpet, and tomorrow her new bed is being delivered. As she's at uni, she doesn't know about any of this so, hopefully, it will come as a nice surprise at the end of term.
 Ducklings in the garden:
 A drive through Burnham Beeches for lunch with a friend......
 ...... and then a walk through the woods to find Bluebells:
 Sock knitting with my yarn bought in Antwerp:
 A purse making workshop at a nearby farm. It's now my 'parking meter purse' - all £ coins go in here for when I'm visiting E in Bristol.
 L came home for the weekend and we went for a walk and a picnic up Beacon Hill. Here's the view of Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey) from the top:
 Loving L's charity shop Converse trainers! 

 There were cowslips galore:

 On the way home, we drove by Sandham Memorial Chapel and decided to pay a visit. This is Stanley Spencer's 'Holy Box', containing his famous war paintings. He worked as a medical orderly in Bristol and Salonika and his paintings show the everyday routines of the soldiers. No photography was allowed inside the chapel, but it is well worth a visit. Whilst we were there a man was reading war poetry aloud. Both my girls studied WWI poetry for AS English Literature, so many were familiar to us. Even so, Rupert Brookes' 'The Soldier' had me sitting there trying hard not to cry.
 A trip to our local theatre in the evening:

 To see this. There were only 3 cast members playing all the parts, and they were brilliant.
 L has a kayak that she bought when living by the river in Oxford. Now that she lives in London, 'Nitwit', as it is affectionately known, lives in our shed. She had an outing on the Bank Holiday - L and R did most of the paddling, but I did have a little go. Well, there are only 2 paddles and my role was chief picnic bringer!
 

Floral goodness from the garden. These were my Tulips from Amsterdam. We bought a mixed bag of bulbs and initially I thought that they were all red.....
....... but then:
 
The Wisteria is flowering. It smells beautiful, and as I type the scent is wafting through the open window.
A few years ago we bought a Magnolia tree for the garden. Sadly, every time it made some attempt at growing/flowering the deer ate it! Over the winter, R added a barricade of netting and look!
There is just the one flower mind you, but it's a start and I'm thrilled!

Hostas before the slugs!
...... and it's blossom time! Blossom against a blue sky is one of my favourite sights. That and yellow Rape against a stormy sky, but sadly I don't have a picture of that!
Finally, my finished 'Dotted Rays Shawl' by Stephen West. I really loved this pattern; there was just enough detail to keep me interested, but also lots of garter stitch making it ideal TV knitting:
Well, that's my camera clear. I think that it's cooled down a bit now, so I'm off to do a bit of weeding. Enjoy the sunny weather while it lasts. I tapped the barometer today and it swung towards rain, so I have my fingers crossed for a good old thunderstorm this evening. Another of my favourite things! Enjoy the rest of your week.
Toodle pip for now. xx


8 comments:

  1. Funnily enough we are having very British weather at the moment too! Boiling hot one minute, a thunderstorm the next. It won;t last though...
    Love the ducklings, your daughter's Converse, would love to visit the Sandham Memorial Chapel as I remember the war poets well from school. So much to comment on!

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  2. Looks like you've been having lots of fun over the last few weeks. Never been to Highclere but love to go if ever I am down that way. It was a beautiful weekend here too spent most of the time in the garden. Sadly back to work now:-(

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  3. A very British selection of photos too. Kayaking must have been fun and chief picnic bringer is a very important job. Glad your Magnolia is beginning to thrive. We’ve had ours for over 20 years and it’s huge, but then I have no deer nibbling. Beautiful country side photos especially Burham Beeches,, one of my special places.
    Hope you have no more water problems at least you are stocked up with water in case. Hope your daughter appreciates her new bedroom. B x

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  4. Awww....poetry of reduces me to tears too, especially war poetry.
    What a busy time you are having, kayaking? You go girl!!! I love L's trainers and E will be thrilled with her new room, what a lovely surprise that will be. Being without water is a nightmare, our boiler developed a leak on bank holiday weekend and we went without for two days, it was an absolute pain, how we take such things for granted! I loved your ducklings, the rescue is slowly filling up with them.xxx

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  5. You paint the most lovely picture of your life through the things you do and come into contact with, peace and beauty all around. I would like a kayak. I would also like to be able to knit socks! Glorious countryside out your way and the local theatre looks beautiful. Hope E likes her new bedroom when she comes home, I'm sure she will. How is Hamish? He's the only thing missing from this lovely post :o) XX

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    1. Hamish is very well thank you CT. He's been enjoying the sunny weather and sitting out in the garden a lot. He sends love to Poppy and Ted. xx

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  6. You seem to find some lovely classes to take! Your purse is fab! x

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  7. I'm so late to admire your pretty post. Great photos! I hope the weather is nice by now.
    Amalia
    xo

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