More history!

 My sojourn south was slightly spoilt by the fact  my neuralgia flared up and I was unable to speak (peace for many) or eat (great diet)! Luckily I had some medication at Jake's and now it is easing. I managed to drink a G & T out of one of those below!!

Unfortunately it took Jake a while to realise that to speak was agony - she kept asking questions! - but after thrusting a piece of paper explaining that I could only cope with yes / no questions she understood. Luckily the medication is starting to work and I could actually start to talk a little before the pain crept in. Able to eat some dinner last night!

Yesterday was a lovely sunny, although chilly, day and so we went to Witley Court - an Italianate country house ruin set in formal gardens. We ventured into the church first - it was so unlike any church you expect to see in England and was the first Baroque church in Britain. 

It was built between 1732 and 1735 by the  Foley family.  The mention of the Foley family felt a bit spooky as I was in Foley house at St Mary's! The ceilings were painted by Antonio Bellucci. The Windows are probably the finest examples of early 18th century enamelled glass. The cherub is actually a picture of one of the Foley children who had hydrocephalus - this rain in the Foley side of the family.

We then went on a tour of the actual house. The tour guide was very informative and gave us a run down of all the happenings! It all to do with money and 'showing off' basically! It was a place for 'house parties' for the fashionable society - the Prince of Wales, later to become Edward VII was a frequent visitor! Unfortunately a fire started in 1937 and it was unable to be saved. Since then an owner stripped it of everything, including the lead roof, and this is now in the care of English Heritage.

trip down memory lane!

 On Wednesday after a poor debut at tabletennis I drove south for a nostalgic tour of a few places that were 'home'

First house was the one we had on our return to UK then there was the unit over the  newsagents where we lived with Al. Finally my dad's cottage and the surround village houses.

 

 

Thursday was spent at Bletchley Park which was once a top-secret home of the World War 2 code breakers. The movie Enigma was loosely based on Bletchley Park! The display's were terrific and you could only stand and wonder how clever the people were who devised the early 'computer'.

 

Today was spent around my childhood haunts with the first stop being our family home. Dad had the house built and it was ready to move into in 1952. 

  We called it 'The Firs' it is now

Shallimar! The window on the lower far left was actually the garage when we lived here. The top right was my room but the right hand side was a later addition.

These are some pictures of the Denham village where we went to school, Sunday school and Infants school.

Crazy weather continues.

 Monday was a lazy day with a walk around the village and down to the river - unfortunately the pub is closed! In just a couple of days the river has risen dramatically!

 A few days ago we were able to walk to the cabins!

Yesterday, even though it was raining, we decided to go to the Cotswolds. Because of floods there was only one way to go and that was via Stourport where luckily the bridge is high enough not to be a problem. We had a look at the flooding and I was shocked by what I saw.

  

I was amazed! The vehicle below, picture taken in the morning, would have been in the water by afternoon as the river rose so much during the day! 

We drove through torrential rain but it started to clear as we reached Stow-on-the-Wold. This is a market town 'built ' by the Norman's.  

 

 We had a good wander after a coffee and a piece of Lardy cake! We even wandered into a huge antiques shop - shame things don't travel too well in a suitcase, there were some beautiful glass were.

Next stop Bourton-on-the-water, another pretty Cotswold village.

We had a very nice lunch before finding a pottery shop where my sister and I made a purchase each. The pottery was very happy to tell me that he had sold 90 odd pieces to the Four Seasons hotel in Sydney!

Storm Eunice continues!

 Happy to be out of the wild winds lulled us into a false sense of security! An afternoon walk was hopefully going to keep me awake but there was more excitement to come because at 5pm the power went out! Luckily there is a wood burner here so that was blazing away and luckily it was also able to heat our dinner! My sister was even able to boil the potatoes on top of the wood burner and dinner was very 'romantic' as we were dining by candlelight. Power was restored at 8pm.

After a rainy start to the day we decided to go to Worcester - I needed my Marks and Sparks fix after missing out yesterday! I did start to brighten up so we decided to take a long walk. The river was in flood - the only ones enjoying it were the swans!

note the rail for the steps down to the river!

  

All the playing fields were lakes and we had to manoeuvre around a couple of fallen trees. As usual there was a need to photograph me in awkward positions.

 

Good thing I'm so athletic😅😅

 A little shopping completed we headed home! A soak in the hot tub later rounded off the day!

Sunday started rainy but we saw an opportunity to get out and about so headed down the lanes to see the spring flowers making and appearance - there were snowdrops, daffodils, crocus and primroses. 

 Further into our walk the wind picked up and the way some of the trees were swying was enough to give me a burst of speed (?) up the hills! Passing the Old Mill house you gained a perspective on how much water was powering along!

 We made it back home just before a torrential rain storm.

Today I have woken to the arrival of Storm Franklin! At this rate we'll soon be up to Storm Lesley!!

 

Finally travelling again!!!

 It was such a different experience going to the airport after all the 'lock downs'. Few people, few flights, very few places to eat and no 'buzz'about the place!

Boarding was quick and easy  and we were soon on the way to Darwin. Business and premium economy were full but back in 'cattle class' there was plenty of room with each row of three having at least one or two seats empty! There was one other person in my row but unfortunately we were behind a family of screaming children - I think one of the children yelled the whole way to Darwin! During the 90 minutes stop there I went to ask if there was any chance of being moved and 'Hey Presto' I was now 10 rows back and totally by myself.

Wearing a mask for so long was fine but my ears are sore! It was a long flight but I did manage 4 or 5 hours sleep and we landed in London at 5am and luckily ahead of Storm Eunice! It was so easy getting through Heathrow that I was soon on the Heathrow Express and heading for Paddington.

Unfortunately things started to go pear shaped when booking a train ticket to Worcester  was now not going to be the straight forward 2h 10min direct trip! Firstly I took a train to Didcot via Reading, next train I missed because the staff were being too helpful! You have to go to Oxford next they said so off I went and then from there another drama ensued with the train suddenly delay but who knew for how long! Iappeared that the train was sitting in a siding without a driver - a number of us offered to drive the train! Thankfully a driver appeared and I was on my way. Train speeds were restricted and Storm Eunice was certainly battering the country! I finally met my sister, not at 9:10 as expected but 12:05!! The managed to get my  money's worth out of the expensive ticket with a grand tour of southern England! 

 

The green line is where I should have gone, the yellow is my'magical mystery tour!

    There was no trip into Marks and Sparks it was just a matter of getting home before the winds became any worse and driving became dangerous. I must remember this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Its the not the Destination, It's the journey.” 

It's great to be here although I'm having to used to going from 31C to 4C - a slight shock to the system! 

After nearly 3 years it's wonderful to catch up with my sis and b-i-l !