CLIVEDEN

It is a damp and drizzly day in May 2008. We have arrived at Cliveden and just eaten a picnic lunch sitting in our car in the rain. We have come to visit the gardens only, as this magnificent house is now let as a hotel and only open to visitors at limited times. Today is not one of them.


The gardens overlook the River Thames and were once the exclusive haunt of the rich and famous. Cliveden was the glittering hub of society as the home of Waldorf and Nancy Astor in the early part of the 20th century.


We will begin by walking around the outside of the house and then on through the formal gardens before entering part of the woodlands that will take us down to the Thames.

Looking out across the parterre towards the Thames

Down into the formal gardens

Easy access to the gardens from the house

Looking back towards the house

We are now about to trample through the woods towards the river and are not aware at this point just how steep the bank is. We are promised beautiful riverside walks at the bottom.

After our riverside walk we decide to take the longer but more civilised route back to the house

We are nearly there!

Cliveden dates back to 1668

We go through the gates and walk the length of the drive

before turning right to the car park

hope you enjoyed your visit

Stourhead Gardens,Wiltshire

I was out walking yesterday morning and the sky was blue, the temperature a pleasant 55f and I ended up having to take off my jacket. Much appreciated after the weather that we have had recently. As soon as I arrived home I took the opportunity to prune all the Clematis as February is the best time for this. The baking that I had planned did get done, but not until 5.0 pm.

Today the weather is dreary so my thoughts turn to a Summer post. Here we see the beautiful gardens of Stourhead on a June afternoon. Stourhead is a world famous landscaped garden and Palladian mansion.

It lies in the secluded privacy of its own valley and is one of the finest landscaped gardens in the world. Mathew MacFayden proposed to Keira Knightley in the film Pride & Prejudice here.The garden was designed by Henry Hoare II as a place to entertain and was laid out between 1741 and 1780. The magnificant lake is central to the iconic garden of classical temples and follies while the Palladian mansion houses unique collections of Chippendale furniture, magnificant paintings and an exquisite Regency library. Amongst the wider estate Two Iron Age hill forts can be discovered.

However, for me in this instance it is the garden that holds the most fascination. So, come walk around the lake with me and see what I mean.

The mansion and entrance

One of the follies

Another thing I have been getting up to this week is setting up my first i-Pod. When I think that this has 120 Gigabytes of space and my first computer only had 12 Megabytes - how technology has changed in that 16 years. I am working on installing my music,probably thousands in the end and then I will get to grips with installing all the videos I have taken of my dear Grandson. I am so pleased with the sound I get from this tiny speaker sound system - much better than our music centre. So, having taken months to make the decision to buy one, I am very pleased with it.

The Bishop's Palace, Wells, Somerset

On our last visit to Wells in Somerset we visited The Bishops Palace which is situated next to the magnificent cathedral. It is a moated Palace surrounded by beautiful gardens and dates back to the early 13th century. It is said to be the most memorable of all Bishops Palaces in England.

We were doubly blessed as Phillip Jackson, a well known British Sculptor was staging an exhibition at the time. It was quite amazing as everywhere we went we came across these very unusual sculptures. Do come on round and enjoy them with us.

http://www.bishopspalacewells.co.uk/thepalace.php

Double click photos for finer details

The Cathedral from the Palace gardens

An underground well springs forth out of this tranquil water at 40 gallons a second and gives the town it's name of Wells.

Historic Pub Closes

Well we know that Woolworths has closed but the closing of the Golden Lion in the centre of my town was a surprise. It seems it is temporary as it is being bought by a brewery group. This place has seen lots of history and lots of changes I am sure.


The director of our local museum says that it was built around 1440. The first written record of the pub was in the will of a local resident in 1482 but it is said to most certainly have existed a long time before that.

In 1601 it was inherited by philosopher and writer Francis Bacon, a good friend of playwright William Shakespeare. It is quite possible that Shakespeare sat in the pub.

Here we see a good example of 'the old and the new' with a modern block of flats in the background.

I think we will be going on a trip in the next post, not literally but a delve into my recent photos so stay tuned and come with me.

The end of the Week

I have not posted for over a week it seems, courtesy of my cousin who E-mailed me. She was wondering if I was OK. Gosh, has blogging become a barometer of my life? Well I guess like all of us life gets busy at times and priorities have to come first.

In my corner of the world the snow cleared only to be followed by 24 hours of torrential rain. I was out driving last Monday evening with a friend on our way to Pilgrims Hall and roads were flooded everywhere. On our return journey we took the long way round on main roads rather than the country roads on our outward journey and we were still driving through water in some places.


My rose beds had still not recovered several days later, turning to ice over night (the poor daffodills are rotting away) and then we had more snow on Thursday. We are certainly having a cold spell but at least we do not have temps. of 47C and raging fires like they have had in Australia, fairly close to where one of my brothers and his family live. Or prayers go out to those who have lost everything.

We can pretend it is Summer in the house though. I have some 4 year old Orchids that are in full bud and will soon be as beautiful as these.

Last Saturday I decided to prepare some 'comfort food' for the cold weather. Part of my reason for trying out this recipe is that I like to try simple and tasty one-pot dishes that will be suitable for cooking in bulk for when I have our house church for a meal.

This Italian Sausage and Bean Casserole seemed to fit the bill accompanied by Rosemary Cornbread.

There was a lot more than sausage and beans in the dish though. There was onion, celery, carrots, garlic, aubergine(egg plant), red wine, Passata and black olives, parsley and chicken stock. I used Polenta for the cornbread and mixed in fresh Rosemary from the garden.

I was interviewed on our national Christian radio this last week, the subject being a combination of faith and love at first sight. It is only when one hears one's experience from someone else's point of view that the reality sinks in.

For those who have not read my story, Alan and I met for the first time at his Mother's house one Saturday evening (his Mother being the sister-in-law of my Aunt). I went to bed that night thinking "this guy is going to ask me to marry him!" Having spent most of the following day together, he did ask me to marry him that Sunday evening just 24 hours after meeting. I said 'yes'. Parents were horrified but we married 4 months later. Three months after that I embarked on an almost year long sea journey as Alan was a Chief Engineer on board ship and this year we celebrate 50 years together.

The faith aspect came about because Alan was not a Christian at the time and as I was lying in bed that first night I heard God's promise to me that he would be. It took 15 years of prayer and intercession before I saw the outworking of that promise to me. God is faithful.

Interview, A Tag, and Awards

I gave Susan of Penless Writer permission to interview me. Very brave. (Me not Susan that is!) These were the 5 questions that she came up with.



1. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I cannot foresee the future, but my desire would be to be alive and healthy and being who God means me to be in everything and everyone that He brings into my life.

2. What is your greatest accomplishment in life?

To have reached the age of 70 fit and healthy with a zest for life and a faith that makes everything else worthwhile, and to see my 2 children healthy, fulfilled and independent.

3. If money were no object where would you live and what would you do?

I would not want to live anywhere other than where I do because this is where God has put me and I am blessed to be surrounded by like minded people of faith but I could have my house raised to the ground and rebuilt to my own specifications, especially giving me more scope for hospitality. As far as money is concerned I would want to pay off my children's mortgages, help my church and travel in some luxury which would include a new car.

4. Do you set goals for yourself? If so what is one you are working on now?

A bit ambiguous for me this question as I do not really set goals, I prefer to be open to God's leading, but I do like to plan in my mind which I see as different to a goal. At the moment I am working on de-cluttering my house, and thinking about spring cleaning and some house decoration that we need to do and some things that need replacing. This of course is much dependent on whether hubby agrees or not!

5. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

Again a difficult question because if I changed the things I don't like about myself I would not be me. I prefer to allow God to do the changing. I would prefer never to suffer anxiety or depression or fear but those are the things that God has used to grow me on my journey.




Zetor of Mog's Blog tagged me with showing the 4th photo in my 4th file on my computer. That particular photo I was not at liberty to show without invading the privacy of another so instead I chose the 4th photo in the 4th file from the bottom of the list.

This photograph is of the house in Devon where Alan and I spent our honeymoon over Christmas of 1959. It belonged to friends of my Aunt's who owned Palmer's Biscuit factory and they had just bought it to run as a guest house. We were their first guests. It was on the edge of Dartmoor.

Betty of Country Charm awarded me the above award.

The authors say that blogs who receive this award are exceedingly charming. This blog invests in the PROXIMITY in space, time and relationships. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that even more friendships are propagated. I pass this award on to Susan of Penless Writer as above.



And Memaw of It Came to Pass awarded me this Lemons to Lemonade award which is apparently for showing a grateful attitude. I pass this on to Susan of Adventurous Living

I appreciate the thoughts and kindness of these awards and the people who have sent them to me and the people to whom I have passed them on.

Snow Report

The snow has nearly all gone in my neighbourhood after much torrential rain but just 30 minutes away the snow has been doing it's thing again causing chaos. Where we had rain, they had more snow.

The Severn Bridge between England and Wales had to be closed when large blocks of ice dropped from the high suspension and smashed into car windscreens. We have severe weather forecast into next week with ice being the main culprit as well as snow so it is not over yet.

A walk in the local park showed many abandoned snowballs and a pretty sky as the snow began to melt.

And here is a little British humour to lighten the day. Images from the Daily Mail newspaper. There were lots but here are just a few.

Our son is about to escape it all (if he can get to the airport) as he will be on his way to Palm Springs in Southern California again tomorrow. He chose the right time I think.

Bedside Table Challenge

A Woman Who Is has come up with a 'bedside table' challenge. In other words photographing the books that you presently have on your bedside table. So having agreed to do this here are the pics.

I will work from left to right.

Praised Voices - Compiled by Chris Walton. Over 90 Christian writers from all walks of life have come together from all over the world, to spread the good word through their poetry. My own poem 'The Mind of God' is included in this collection and was awarded the distinction of 'Editor's Choice'.

The Fables of Aesop These and the rest of the brief allegorical tales known for over 2500 years as Aesop's Fables are not just children's stories, but a vital part of our culture says the editor.

The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. A study on the prayer of Jabez in

1 Chronicles 4:10

Summit Living - Selected Daily Readings of the late Norman Grubb, missionary and one of the founders of WEC International and the son-in-law of C.T. Studd and also a friend of ours.

Speaking to the Heart by Sister Wendy Beckett. A collection of 100 poems of wonder, love, sorrow, laughter, longing, prayer and hope that speak directly to the heart - each with a short introduction.

Mama Tina by Christina Noble. The inspiring sequel to Bridge Across My Sorrows where Christina wrote about the story of her early life as a Dublin street-child. In 1989, driven by a dream and by the memory of her own past, she travelled 6,000 miles to Vietnam. Against extraordinary odds, she opened the Christina Noble Children's Foundation, a haven of food, beds, medical aid and schooling for the street children of Saigon.

At Home with the Queen by Brian Hoey. Life Through the Keyhole of the Royal Household.

After Midnight by Susan Sallis. A sequel to The Pumpkin Coach.One of my favourite contemporary English novelists.

Let is Snow, Let it S......NO......w!

We have snow! This kind of snow is not usual, I assure you, for the Greater London area. The last heavy snow fall here was 18 years ago.

The beginnings on Sunday evening

2.0 am

Monday morning

No one has visited next door today

So what does one do when the schools are closed and the roads not drivable, we go out to play. Living on a hill has some advantages and we are just making our road a little more impassable than it was to begin with. The guy with his face covered is our house church leader!

And seen in blue his wife, a third year medical student.

Anyone can play in the snow. Guess who? Yours truly! Still not growing old gracefully

And off she goes!

Unfortunately I do not have a photo of the next few moments. I was going so fast I put my left foot out to slow myself down instead of using the brake, and managed to spin around several times before parting company with the sled and sliding the remainder head first in direct contact with the snow. IT WAS FUN.

Alison's snowman

Jenny's snowman

Time to come indoors and look out through the windows

There is a beautiful Jay here but almost invisible

In the centre of the picture a beautiful red fronted Woodpecker but

he turned as I clicked the shutter

double-click and you will just see a hint of red

Next it was to the local park almost at the top of my road

It has continued to snow since these pictures were taken this morning and is set to for the rest of the day so it is forecast to be pretty deep. Reminds me of my childhood in the North of the country.