School run - or walk even? and then France!

A warm welcome to Sarajan my latest follower - its good to have you on board and hope you enjoy reading my posts.

After I've taken my grandson L to school in the mornings and the weather is good I'll often go for a walk on the local common or lanes nearby just to get a bit of fresh air and give me some exercise. Today was glorious, the sun was shining and the skies were blue so I took myself off to where I used to take my own children to school when we lived in a different house and about ten minutes away by car. I didn't have my camera so used my iPhone and took pot luck.

This is the walk that I took every day

a tiny footpath between the fields

where horses grazed

and rabbits romped (there was one but it got away)

and where the hedgerows were filled with an abundance of colour

We did this walk every day for about 7 or 8 years where the children could stroke the horses most mornings and do a spot of blackberry picking on the way home in September when the fruit was at its best.

Nearing the end of the path now and just a short walk down this leafy lane 

to school

How different from today's manic school run, where everything including L is bundled into the car and then a slow drive up the hill due to the volume of traffic or the latest road works and then into the car park to see if you can actually park the car. This can take about 20 minutes start to finish. My own little walk to school was about the same time - but oh so pleasant.

On my way back to where I'd left my car I couldn't resist these two little cottages

Aren't they lovely?

Well at last we're off on our holidays - France - The Dordogne for 4 days and Carcassonne in Languedoc for 3 days. So unless I can get wi-fi in our hotel will be out of touch with Blogland until we return - with plenty of photos I hope.

Speak again soon

Patricia x

Faith Hope and Charity Jubilee Swap

I have just completed the Jubilee swap that Lakota organised a few weeks ago. I'm absolutely delighted with my parcel of goodies just received from my swap partner Dawn at Life on the East Coast. It was like Christmas all over again wth me oohing and aahing at all the lovely gifts inside. The rules were at least one item had to be thrifted/second-hand, at least one item should be handmade and at least one item to fit the Jubilee theme. Here are my box of goodies from Dawn.

which included of a pair of Jubilee socks,  jam pot covers, a notebook, pack of notecards, a bag of ribbons and thread, a pack of rhubarb and custard sweets, a tote bag, an Observers book of Garden Flowers and some crocheted bunting which is currently hanging on my fireplace - I love it.

My gifts to Dawn were

A book, a fat quarter of union flag fabric, Cath Kidston Body Cream, tin of buttons, some ribbons, a hanging heart, some gift tags, bun cases and a drawstring bag made with Cath Kidston fabric.

Thank you so much Dawn for being my swap partner and for my lovely parcel
and also to Lakota for organising this.

Patricia x

Windsor Castle - for lunch

A couple of years ago John and I were given a gift of an 'Adopted Book' by my sister and her husband which is housed at the Chapter Library of St George's Chapel and College at Windsor Castle. We were invited to an Open Day on Saturday as well as lunch in the Dungeons which was an added bonus.

 The Adopt a Book scheme  was initiated by the Deans and Canons as a way of funding the extensive programme of repairs for the very old and rare books that are kept at Windsor. Our book has a bookplate at the back dedicated to us and will remain in the family for a hundred years.



Just as we arrived the Changing of the Guards ceremony was taking place

We were escorted to the Chapter Library by the Senior Archivist

Passing these lovely buildings on the way - the Choirmaster and musicians from

St George's Chapel live here.

The library contains over 6000 rare books, many still in their original bindings, covering many subjects such as religion, history, classics, geography and medicine.

After a brief talk and visit to an exhibition of very rare books we were shown into the room where our book The Antiquities of Athens, Vol 1 is housed. John and I have a passion for architecture and our book was especially chosen with this in mind as I was also doing a Diploma in Classical Studies at the time. It was published in 1762 and reflects a time during the 18th century known as The Grand Tour when many wealthy Britons flocked to the classical cities of Europe to measure and record antiquities. This book was to become an essential sourcebook for the 19th century Greek Revival in Britain.



And so to lunch..

A lovely setting for this wonderful spread and a mini lecture whilst we were eating by one of the archivists on the history of the dungeons and its various inmates over the last 800 years

After our visit we were free to wander around the grounds as well as visit St George's Chapel

We had wonderful day at Windsor and hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we did.

Bye for now

Patricia

Summer Solstice

Thankyou so very much to everyone who commented on my last couple of posts and I'm sorry I couldn't reply to you all. My exams are now over for the year - whoohoo!  and can't wait to get back to some kind of normality where my head's not always in a book and my mind isn't all over the place.

Today is the Summer Solstice and as such is the longest day of the year and the first day of summer. Around the world and throughout history rituals and celebrations have been tied to the solstice for its astronomical and spiritual significance and here in Britain thousands of people gather every year on the night before to wait for the sun to come up over the stones at Stonehenge.

I'm always in awe of Stonehenge every time I visit and it never ceases to amaze me how on earth those stones were put there in the first place! Lovely place to visit and looked after by English Heritage

I don't know about anyone else but I seem to recall my childhood summers as being just that, sunny days and blue skies. The school summer holidays seemed to go on forever, the days were long and us kids at 7 or 8 years old would spend hours playing over the local park or crabbing on the beach, playing by ponds, jumping across dykes, swinging from trees and only going home to grab a bite to eat and to let mum know that we were okay. I actually think she would have had a fit if she'd known where we'd been hanging out all day but we came to no harm.

I remember balmy summer evenings when our parents used to natter with the neighbours over the garden fence until all hours, when the gnats were biting and the bats were flying low and the knowledge that we had the whole summer ahead of us. Was it really like that - did we have sunshine all summer, did it never rain or am I just romanticising?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Today in Essex its absolutely gorgeous, the sun is shining and the skies are blue - for how much longer I've no idea but people keep telling me to make the most of it!

See you soon

Patricia

PS - welcome to my new follower Ulrika, nice to have you on board.

London weekend part 2

After lunch last Saturday we headed towards Trafalgar Square and The Mall - wonderful atmosphere with Union Flags in abundance.

I liked these statues of the late Queen Mother and King George Vl overlooking the proceedings outside Clarence House

We walked almost to the end of The Mall but because they were preparing for the concert, we chose not to walk any further. On the way back spotted Big Ben in the distance towering above the trees in St James Park.

And Westminster Hall

We made our way back to St Paul's and sat here for a cup of tea and a

chance for a spot of people watching

Back over the Thames to the South Bank where we made out way towards Southwark Cathedral

Passing Borough Market on the way

Borough Market supposedly dates back to around 1276 and has been on this site since 1851. Amongst the produce on sale are fresh fruit and vegetables, all kinds of cheese, meat, game and freshly baked bread and pastries as well as freshly cooked street food which is always a mouthwatering experience to say the least.

The market next door was quite aptly named

The Clink was a notorious prison in Southwark which functioned from the 12th century until 1780 and belonged to the Manor of the Bishops of Winchester. The origins of the name "The Clink" are uncertain but possibly derives from the sound of striking metal as the prisoner's doors were bolted or the rattling of the chains they wore.

The Shakespeare Globe Theatre stands on the river bank and is a modern reconstruction of the original Globe which was destroyed by fire in 1613. It was opened in 1997 just 750 feet from the site of the original.

Next door to the Globe was this lovely little terrace of houses. In between the houses is Cardinal's Cap Alley - I love strange sounding street names and looked into its origins.  Until the 1600s Bankside was a bawdy place, full of taverns, drinking houses and brothels as well as bear and bull-baiting pits and, in the time of Shakespeare, public theatres. This alley once led to a tavern called the Cardinal's Hat.

We had dinner in this fabulous restaurant Zizzis overlooking the Thames and where they cooked the food in front of you. Such a buzz that evening.

And this was the view from our window seat.

That was Saturday

And what a difference a day makes!!

We may be wet, we may be cold but we wouldn't have missed this unforgettable Sunday.

Weekend in London - Part 1

Thankyou to Connie and June for becoming my two new followers - welcome to my blog.

Where has this week gone? I know we had a long weekend but somehow it has just slipped away. My weekend was fabulous. We went to London for the Pageant on the Thames and had a wonderful, albeit very wet day. I was going to post some photos but guess like me you are all Jubileed out, so thought you might like some alternative shots of London.

Before we arrived at our hotel in Southwark we spent Saturday morning just walking around the city visiting some of the sights. We were certainly very lucky with the weather, sunshine all day.

We started by visiting St Katharine's Dock - a haven of tranquillity nestled in the heart of the City next to the Tower of London.

The docks are built on a site with over 1000 years of dramatic history and can be traced back to the 10th century. There is evidence of there having been a dock here since 1125 and throughout the ages it has housed a hospital and a monastery. The name has been traced back to Elizabethan times when the area around the hospital was thriving with busy wharves and almshouses.

Today the Marina houses up to 200 luxury yachts and historic barges

And these

After a stroll past the Tower of London we ventured on to the old Port of London Authority Building in Trinity Square. I love architecture and this fine example of Corinthian columns are absolutely stunning.

One of the many wharves that line the River Thames which have been

restored into apartments or shopping malls

This is part of the London Roman Wall which was built around 190 and 220AD and stretched for about three miles from Blackfriars to Tower Hill. This defensive wall protected what was then the important Roman city of Londinium.

After a quick turn-around at our hotel we ventured across the Millennium Bridge towards St Paul's Cathedral and found this lovely old Inn on Ludgate Hill where we stopped for lunch

This is one of the few pubs in london that can justify the 'Ye Olde' in its name. It was well known in the 17th century and prior to that had been a guest house belonging to a 13th century Carmelite Monastery and the vaulted cellars are thought to belong to that building.

 The pub was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666 and rebuilt the following year.

This is the address - don't you love it?

On that note I'll leave you and go and grab a glass! To be continued

tomorrow with our afternoon's jaunts

See you soon x