It’s been a fun, busy week. My darling sister Sallie and her husband Rod were here from Utah via Switzerland, Portugal, Shetland, Scotland and the Great North. And we dragged them all over the countryside!
I picked them up at Banbury Station on Monday late afternoon looking somewhat tired and stiff after their long rail journey from Edinburgh. After a good night’s sleep, on Tuesday, we sped off to Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, a place I always enjoy visiting and one they’d not been to before.
It was a bit of a disappointment to discover that the palace is currently undergoing major repairs so it is covered in scaffolding and protective drapery. Doesn’t quite have the same visual impact when you come through the gates and get your first close look at the palace.
Our disappointment at the curtained palace was tempered by the surprise discovery that, while the scaffolding is in place, visitors are able to climb up to the rooftop level. From here you get a magnificent view over the Palace parkland as well as into the roof area to see the restoration work going on.
The gardens are a bit muted this time of year and the weather was overcast so things were perhaps not looking their best. But I always enjoy the grand scale and sheer opulence of it all.
Wednesday morning bright and early we all set off on the train for London to the Royal Academy of Arts for a Kiefer/Van Gogh exhibition. We had organised this weeks ago and had arranged to meet up with our friends the Waltons and Kelly-Browns – unfortunately, Dave and Sue were unwell and had to cancel. A great pity as it was Dave who had originally suggested the outing.
The exhibit was terrific. I must confess to having no knowledge of Kiefer before but I was blown away by the style and scale of the stuff on display, as well as the backstory of his following in the footsteps of Van Gogh all over Europe.
No rest for the wicked. On Thursday we all scampered off for the day in Warwick. We visited some of our favourite gardens – the Hill Close Gardens and the Mill Garden with lunch in the dog-friendly café in the Lord Leycester Infirmary, the Great Hall Café.
I’ve written about the Hill Close Gardens before. They are an “allotment-type” of arrangement, rare survivals of Victorian gardens once used by townsfolk living above their business to escape from the crowded town. They are patches of land owned or rented by shopkeepers who would come to the gardens after work or on Sundays to tend their plots or to relax. Some raised vegetables, some fruit, some just laid out a restful, comfortable garden in which to enjoy the fresh air. The local butcher kept his pigs here. They were saved from development when local residents persuaded Historic England that some of the garden sheds erected were worthy of saving. Historic England agreed and the rest is history. The gardens are now run by a Trust and a largely volunteer staff.
Lunch in the Great Hall Café was “fine” if perhaps a bit on the slow side. It is, nevertheless, a very impressive building. Daisy took the delay in her stride. She was much admired by many and given a mountain-full of treats.
From there we were off to Mill Garden just in the shadows of Warwick Castle. This is simply a gorgeous garden, even in the overcast skies of early autumn. It’s not only a magnificent garden, it’s a magnificent story. Mill Street runs down to the river just underneath Warwick Castle. The street and all the houses were owned by the Earl of Warwick who decided to sell them as a job lot by auction in 1959. Naturally, none of the individual lease holders along the street would have been able to outbid the developers who were after the site. So, a gentleman by the name of Arthur Measures, Manager of Barclays Bank in Birmingham, who had lived in the cottage at the bottom of Mill Street since 1936, organised a syndicate and was successful in purchasing the street and the tenancies which were later distributed amongst the lease holders of the cottages along the street.
Not enough gardens? On Friday morning we all trooped up to Canons Ashby for some lunch and a quick tour of the garden before Sallie and Rod departed that late afternoon. (I say, “we all trooped.” In truth, only Sallie, Penny and Daisy trooped. Rod and I joined them later.)
Yesterday, Lady Penelope made her way up to London to join the March for Palestine joining tens of thousands of others. We are so proud of her. It was a grand day, she says, although she was moderately annoyed that the news coverage this morning focused on the occasional disruption caused by a tiny group of loonies spoiling for a confrontation.
And finally . . .
YCNMIU
Boris Johnson has been found to have breached the rules designed to prevent the abuse of power with regard to contacts in public office. Ironically, it was his government which overhauled the rules which he has now been found to have breached.
Quelle surprise! He’s always been a liar and a chancer who believes rules and regulations do not apply to him, even when he makes them up!
And, I think that’s it about it for this week! Happy birthday to our gorgeous, highly intelligent and talented granddaughter on Saturday. She’ll be away in Barcelona on a school trip so I’m hoping she’ll have a great time.
Meanwhile, keep breathing, keep happy, keep smiling, keep exercising, be good, be careful, and keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees – we need all the pollinators we can get.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg