Anniversary Alpacas

Here we are again - that time when I look at my camera and realise that I haven't cleared any photos from it for a while! I need it cleared for this weekend, so here we go .....

Our anniversary fell on a weekend in July which happened to coincide with a visit from L. We had already booked tickets to see The Lord Chamberlain's Men perform 'Twelfth Night' at Chawton House. They are a brilliant group of men, performing in true Shakespearian style ie. acting both male and female parts. In this case we had a man playing a woman (Viola), who was pretending to be a man! Both the play and the picnic were thoroughly enjoyed. R and I may return to look round the house at some point - if the toilets are anything to go by it promises to be lovely!

As an anniversary present I had booked R an 'Alpaca Experience' at Pennybridge Farm in Hook, Hampshire. I had booked for 3, so, after learning all about them and giving them some food, we had one each to take on a little walk around the surrounding fields. L had Moonshine, R had Maverick, and I started off with Ken. That year they had named the new-borns after various films, so there was a Barbie as well, but no Oppenheimer! Ken was very sweet and had quite a funky little trot. He was very happy as long as he was leading the line. Unfortunately, Moonshine also liked to be in front, so there was a little bit of jostling for pole position! After one circuit of the farm, we swapped alpacas and off we went again. L kept with Moonshine, R led Ken whom he immediately bonded with, and I led Maverick. Maverick was lovely and very chilled, providing he was allowed to walk behind his friend Moonshine. They were all utterly adorable.

Afterwards, we treated ourselves to a nearby pub lunch, before dropping L back at the station and making our way home.

There have been a few trips to various NT properties. As well as enjoying visiting them with R, they make a great place to meet up with friends who live a fair distance away. There is usually one to be found roughly halfway between us.

Brockhampton (a medieval Manor House in Bromyard) with C:

Nuffield Place in South Oxfordshire with R. The home of William Morris (cars not wallpaper!). We loved this. Despite having an absolute fortune (think billions in today's money), he gave most of it away to various causes, living in a comparatively modest (considering he was so rich) house. It was delightfully homely. They moved there because it was close to his favourite golf course. So little did they care about worldly possessions, that they had ill-fitting rugs from a previous home folded back to fit the space, rather than buying new ones.

William Morris's collection of curious objects fitted into a wardrobe in his bedroom. It even includes his appendix in a jar!

After hearing of 2 young boys dying from Polio, he turned over part of his workshop to making iron lungs. These he gave, free of charge, to any hospital in Britain or the Commonwealth who needed one. He really was a fascinating character. The only part of our visit that irritated R, was when we learned that Oxford University (who inherited the property) had knocked down Morris's garage to build accommodation for a caretaker. There was plenty of room in the gardens to make such sacrilege unnecessary.

A trip to Lytes Cary Manor near Somerton - a Medieval manor with an Arts and Crafts style garden - with S. The gardens were beautiful and the dining room contained 2 carved wooden female figures (sorry, no photo), which were thought to be used if there happened to be 13 to dinner, then one could be popped on a chair to prevent bad luck.

Finally, a trip to Mompesson House in Salisbury. I've managed to lose the photo of the front, but it was, like all the houses in Cathedral Close, absolutely stunning. We had the house tour and then ate our picnic in the beautiful garden.

There happened to be a historical re-enactment society having an open day in an adjoining garden. It was great fun - we learned about the medieval apothecary, stone carving, and the Norse game, Hnefatafl (silent H!). It was fun but probably takes some getting used to.

We also popped back to The Vyne this month, but only to walk through the woods. I just missed taking a photo of a fallow deer as it emerged from the trees, turned to face us and then sauntered slowly off. I was too mesmerised to get my camera out!

A few last random shots:

Digging up my potato harvest:

Completing another jigsaw. This one we bought in the second hand bookshop at Nuffield Place, along with an Agatha Christie book and a book of Oxfordshire walks:

Finally finishing my socks made with the yarn that L and V brought back from Skye. Sorry, I forgot to rotate the photo!

That's all for this month. In case you were wondering, my ileal and colonic biopsies came back normal - hurrah! The gastric ones revealed evidence of Helicobacter Pylori infection, necessitating triple eradication therapy - ie, 2 antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor for a week. One of the antibiotics left me with a horrible metallic taste, headaches and dreadful fatigue. I remember knocking a bottle of liquid soap off the wash basin in the downstairs loo; I just stood there looking at it and wondering if I had the energy to actually pick it up or if I could get away with leaving it where it was! It also made me too clumsy and brain foggy to drive.

Luckily, the course is now finished and I have to wait 4 weeks to be retested. My CT scan results are also pending. Depending on what they reveal, I may need an MRI. The most interesting thing about the CT scan was the contrast medium which, when injected, gave you the distinct impression that you had wet yourself. Luckily, they warned you about the spreading warmth beforehand. Even so, I did wonder - you have to drink a litre of water beforehand, so it was a distinct possibility!

I hope all is well in your corner and that you are making the most of the return of the sunshine.

Toodle pip for now. x