Clearing the Camera

Morning all. I'm going to try and be quick today, firstly, because I'm just clearing my camera as we are going away for a few days soon and also .......... it's actually sunny here at the moment and I want to get into the garden and make the most of it. Whatever the Met Office would have us believe (doubtless they will try to claim that it has been the warmest June since records began), it has been decidedly chilly round these parts lately. We even went so far as to light the stove the other evening!

Anyway, here are the few photos that I have taken over the last month. They have actually loaded in reverse order and I can't be bothered to swap them round, so imagine that you are working backwards to the start of the month!

A trip to Grey's Court - a mixture of Tudor, Georgian and Victorian architecture, once owned by Evelyn Fleming, mother of author Ian Fleming. Bought by Sir Felix and Lady Brummer in 1937, they gave the gardens and estate to the National Trust in 1969. The house and furniture are exactly as the family left it, which I love in a property; it gives the impression that they have just popped out and will be back at any moment. Highlights included: one of the volunteers playing the grand piano in the drawing room; the walled garden, and ......... the kitchen!!

The bees loved these roses:

The kitchen was undergoing a deep clean (maybe they could come and do mine!), hence the step ladders:

There was also a sculpture exhibition on in the extensive grounds:

As part of the D-Day commemorations, there was a fair at RAF Ramsbury Airfield, which played an important role on D-Day. A wreath was laid at the memorial and Ramsbury Silver Band provided the  music:

A beacon was lit at Donnington Castle at 9pm. We all joined in with some war time songs and the occasion was only slightly marred by the i***t with the drone, flying it low over the crowd (which I'm sure is illegal!) and spoiling the solemnity of the moment with an annoying whining noise.

A trip to Mottisfont to enjoy the roses. The smell as you walked into the walled garden was beautiful:

Finishing another charity shop jigsaw puzzle. We are definitely on a jigsaw roll at the moment!

Goslings seen at The Vyne when we went back to do some of their garden trails:

The tale of Fanny Mendelssohn, told at The Watermill Theatre. An excellent production, which, in the spirit of encouraging female musicians, had a different female volunteer come up onto the stage and give a brief performance at the end of every show. A young lady played a piece on the bass recorder at the performance that we attended. She was excellent, if a little nervous!

A day trip to London to see L and meet her new partner V. We bought coffee and cake to enjoy on Clapham Common, saw a pug meet up where the theme was The Wild West (there were cowboy hats aplenty!), and sailed a wooden yacht on the pond ( the yacht shed was open and you could borrow them.). We followed it up with lunch at a new sushi place. Unfortunately, we had tucked in before I remembered to take a photo!

One evening we saw a new-born fawn in the garden near the patio. It was still extremely wobbly and the mother was licking her poor, sore rear regions. I didn't  take a photo at the time, as I didn't want to scare them. They were back the following morning though at the side of the house, so I sneaked a shot through the dining room window:

So, that's all for the moment. My camera is clear, the laundry is pegged out and I'm off to do a bit of gardening. Hope all is well in your corner.

Toodle pip for now. x