Hi, it's Sunday morning and we have just finished repacking our bags for the flight to Venice tomorrow afternoon. We have to juggle things around a bit but very luckily British Airways lets you take 23kg hand luggage on board plus a briefcase (or in my case, my art satchel\back pack).
Now to yesterday... oh my word!! We arrived at Sissinghurst at 10.20 (10mins before it opened) and even before we approached the entry point, my heart was beating faster with excitement. I have to tell you that this garden is just THE most beautiful place. The atmosphere (for me) was just incredible, especially as I knew a bit of the history of the garden and Vita Sackville-West before we got there. I remember watching a drama called A Portrait of a Marriage on Sunday Theatre at some stage in NZ last year or the year before and Vita's life was really interesting, for many reasons!!
Everywhere I looked there were gorgeous perennials, most of which I recognised. In one area there were yellow deciduous azaleas that were in flower with drifts of blue flowers (a relative of comfrey whose botanical name has just escaped me even though I remembered it yesterday, ack!). The fragrance from the azaleas was gobsmacking! There were also drifts of (oh screech) trilliums especially Trillium grandiflorum which has fairly large flowers and oh my, the elusive yellow trillium which is a gorgeous shade of strong lemon.
I could rave about this garden for days and I can honestly say it will stay with me for the rest of my life. One of the loveliest things, I think, was being able to sit on the couch in the library in front of a huge fireplace, where Vita and her husband or lovers would have sat. I can't describe how I felt sitting there looking up at a portrait of Vita at 18.
I bought a book of Vita's newspaper gardening columns during 1950 and will buy the next book sometime in the future. I can't wait to read it!
Today we are having a lovely family lunch with Ruth, Bob, two of their children and grandchildren (who I haven't met yet). How lovely that will be! I'd better go and have a cup of tea and then John and I are going to wander up the road to see one of the oldest churches in the country. Big smiles... and oh my we're off to Venice tomorrow!!
Morning! It's 7.40am on Saturday and we are sitting up in bed having a cup of tea before launching ourselves off to Sissinghurst (be still my heart!!).
Yesterday we had a lovely day in Brighton. We started by walking along the seafront to the Pier, which we also walked down. From there we carried on a bit further and looked at a few galleries on the waterfront before heading up into the Lanes. I have to say the shops were pretty amazing! We also ventured into a specialty antique map and print shop where John asked if they had heard of my Basire ancestors who were engravers. ''Yes'' was the very quick answer which was thrilling for me. She tried to find something in the shop by Basire but it would have taken her hours! From there we had lunch at a gorgeous place called ''Bill's'' and then we found the most amazing small shop specialising in pen nibs, inks etc... yes I went a little mad in there, getting a few nibs etc I know I can't get in NZ. Crikey our luggage is going to be fun on the journey to Venice and home. Derry took me into the Royal Pavilion which was a complete feast for the eyes. I can't describe how beautifully over-the-top the decoration is. Just amazing! I'll find a link on the internet and post it when I can. We had dinner with Derry and got back to Ruth and Bob's around 10pm.. a very long but lovely day! Oooooh I saw a fox in the road on the way up the lane to R&B's!!
Right I'd better get up so we can start our adventure to Sissinghurst. Another dream fulfilled.. how wonderful. Smiles...
Hi, I've had a lovely day today. Ruth and I left around 11.15am to head to a local farm shop which was just lovely! We visited a garden centre down the road which is also part of it and then went off to a lovely pub for lunch. We then headed to another large garden centre before heading home where we did some weeding. Oh how I've missed gardening! John in the meantime drove back to Faversham, via an ex work colleague's house, to pick up the suitcase we left behind a few days ago.
Tomorrow we are heading off to spend the day with Derry, John's other sister, in Brighton. I think she has quite a lot organised so we won't be home until tomorrow night sometime.
On Saturday we are definitely going to Sissinghurst and I am so happy John is coming with me. He was going to be meeting up with some old friends from his scouting days but only a couple of them could make it so he decided he'd rather come with me. Sissinghurst has a 3 acre vegetable garden.....G A S P!!! I can't wait to see it!
The weather today was pretty good and ooooh I saw a Jay and a Woodpecker today feeding at Ruth and Bob's feeding station which was so exciting! More tomorrow... Smiles...
Hi, wow here we are in Surrey now and ooooh I've seen squirrels. They are so gorgeous to watch and I can't wait to get some video footage of them. Green parakeets have also visited their bird feeding station, so beautiful! We got here around 4pm or so after a fairly long drive down. It went fairly fast for me because I was in the back seat and spent a lot of time looking at the scenery or on the iPad. Derry sat in the front and chatted to John, which was lovely for him.
We didn'tt make it into Chester yesterday because the traffic was terrible. I think we were quite a way from Chester central and we were literally stuck in a jam of traffic. Who in the heck would want to cope with Chester!! Needless to say we turned around and then found an amazing garden centre close to the hotel where we were meeting John's friend and his wife for lunch. We had a lovely lunch and then suffered heavy traffic all the way back to Yo's. After a bit of a rest we set off to an Indian restaurant for dinner - the food was delicious.
Tomorrow John is going to Faversham to get the suitcase we left behind last week and Ruth and I are going to go to a pub for lunch and then to a farmshop and maybe a garden centre.
On Saturday I am hoping so much to visit Sissinghurst, especially after reading about it on the internet today. It has a 3 acre organic vegetable garden... Oh my word!!!!!! John will need to drive me there and then return 1 hour to meet with his old scouting friends for lunch and then pick me up again later which could mean I will be there or about 4 hours. From what I've read that won't be a problem. I just have to pray for fine weather!!!!
Big smiles and so lovely to be settled for 5 nights before we head to Venice....
Hi, it's Tuesday evening and we are about to go out for an Indian meal with Yo and Derry. We got to Chester around lunchtime but didn't have time to look at the city centre at all because we had to meet John's friend at a hotel near there for lunch at 1pm. We did visit an amazing garden centre and I bought a couple of packets of poppy seeds which I will declare to keep Min of Ag and Fish happy on our way back into NZ and a lovely twine holder with little scissors which will be really handy in the garden.
After a lovely lunch we trundled back on the motorway for about 1.45 hours, big ugh!!!! The traffic in the UK is definitely a BIG downside particularly from John's point of view. Tomorrow is going to be a bit of a trial because we have about a 4.5 hour drive down to Ruth and Bob's. Derry is coming too so I will let her sit in the front to talk to John and I'll sit in the back and take in the scenery and perhaps make a few lists of things I want/need to do when I get home. I really am starting to feel the urge to come home now. I am really enjoying everything and I am looking forward to going to Venice but I SO want to stab my suitcase to death.. GIGGLE! Living out of a suitcase is driving me bonkers. I hate to think how we are going to repack everything into suitable weights etc for our flights. Luckily the one to Venice lets us take hand luggage on that weighs 23kg as well as a briefcase or handbag.
I'd better go as Yo wants to show me her garden before we go out for dinner. Smiles...
Hi, oh what a lovely day we've had today!! we didn't wake up I
Until 8am which was lovely then by the time we had finished breakfast it was around 10am. We spent the day being driven through the Yorkshire dales, near moors etc. There were loads of dry stone walls, which I adore, and just gorgeous countryside!! We stopped at a hotel/pub for lunch and the went for a walk (not sure exactly whether we were on a moor or not). Before we knew it, it was after 4pm!! Crikey!!
Tomorrow we are heading to Chester to meet up with one of John's oldest friends for lunch. It's about a 1.5 hour drive each way from here,then we come back here for the night again.
the weather has been pretty good, a bit windy and the odd shower. I was amazed how cold it was on our walk. Luckily I had my winter woolen coat, with a polar fleece over the top!!! Plus a wooly hat and a scarf, giggle... A very attractive look, giggle!! Smiles until tomorrow..
Hi again from The Yorkshire Dales which are gorgeous! Rolling green fields, stone walls, sheep and rabbits!! We walked through a woodland area this pm full of bluebells and yes I took photos, giggle!! Yikes I took photos of rabbits too.
John's sister Yo has the most amazing bird feeding station and I have just seen my first ever blue tit, great tit, robin, jackdaw and a few others. I've taken photos of them too and can't wait to get home to share them with you.
Derry, John's other sister is here too which is lovely. More tomorrow with smiles..
Hi from Harrogate in Yorkshire. We arrived here late yesterday pm and I've been having a lovely time getting to know Andrew and Karen. We have the most gorgeous bed to sleep in from France. You climb up into it and the mattress cover sort of envelopes you, just yummy!!
This evening we are celebrating one of John's sister's 80th birthday so we will be meeting lots more family for the first time, who's is just really special. I'd better keep this short because there is lots to do and I need to get changed soon too. Smiles and will update this tomorrow. My cough is still pretty nasty and sinusitis is making me feel spaced out, ugh... I'm sure the party will fix that!!
Hi on our Thursday morning. Today we are off to Yorkshire via three trains (oh dear yes more bag trauma). We leave Faversham, Kent at 11am and get to Harrogate in Yorkshire (via Kings Cross station and York station) around 3pm or so. I will be meeting the rest of John's sisters and their families. John hasn't met them all either so it will be wonderful. We spend 2 nights in Harrogate and then 2 nights out on part of the moors before travelling back down to Surrey for a few days. I will post as often as I can. At this stage it sounds as though the weather may warm up during the weekend, but who knows - it's been all over the place!
It seems amazing that we only have 19 more days before we come home. Everyone has been saying how fast the time has gone but we don't feel that way at all. The time has just ticked along without rushing and we have packed so much into our days/weeks. I must admit I am looking forward SO much to getting home. This is not because I'm not enjoying myself on this trip it is just I honestly and truly adore our property and all the wildlife on it! Everything I'm seeing here is inspiring us both to create something even more special on our property. We have plans to plant an area of grapes, figs and lavender in our paddock - growing them in quite a different way than we would normally think of doing (inspired by vines in the South of France and also fig plantations).
One thing I cannot wait for - and that is to see a squirrel here!! Giggle.. More when I can (hopefully tomorrow). Smiles...
Hi honeys, just a quick update.. the good news is John's bronchitis has cleared up even though he still has a post-viral cough. The not-so-good news is I have a chest infection (crikey I normally only get upper respiratory things) and sinusitis so I am now on doxycycline because I'm allergic to penicillin. I also need to use my ventolin more often because there is quite a crackle there. At least I know why I've been feeling fairly rotten so phew here's hoping the drugs kick in fast! I haven't been ill for AGES.. here's to the good fresh air of Nelson!! Smiles...
