The Distancing Diaries - Day 144 & 145

 Tuesday started as all weekdays do with a Wii Fit workout and a fruit & yogurt breakfast. Jon made sandwiches & filled the flask and, despite the gloomy start to the day, we threw caution to the wind and headed off to the outskirts of The Cotswolds without a mac or an umbrella (we like to live dangerously!) By the time we'd reached our destination the sun had burnt through the clouds and it looked set to be another gloriously warm & sunny 34°C day.

We'd last visited Upton House back in 2017 (HERE) on a bitterly cold April day. Built in 1695 by a wealthy MP, the house was bought in 1757 by the Earls of Jersey & used as a hunting lodge for over two hundred years. In 1927 the estate was acquired by the wealthy Walter Samuel, the 2nd Viscount Bearsted, who'd inherited his fortune from his father who'd owned the Shell Oil company. The house was considerably expanded & modernised to incorporate the Art Deco styling Lord & Lady Bearsted adored. The Upton Estate was donated to National Trust in 1948.

Again my outfit accidentally ended up matching the surroundings.

WEARING: Vintage 1970s Anokhi block printed sundress, Lotta from Stockholm clogs, vintage tooled leather bag, 1970s Christian Dior sunglasses.

Built from the local yellow sandstone, the sun always looks like its shining on Upton House. The perfect symmetry of the exterior makes me giddy with joy.

The main attraction of Upton is the gorgeous outside space, a shady yew walk, a huge lawn with cedar trees sweeping down from the house and a seemingly endless terraced garden. There's a large lake, filled with water lilies nestling in a small valley alive with the cries of moorhens and frogs & a large bog garden. Although the kitchen garden was closed (Covid measures!) and the herbaceous borders had been neglected during lockdown it was still absolutely beautiful. In use since the 12th Century, the gardens were transformed by Kitty Lloyd-Jones (1898 -1978) for Lady Bearsted in the 1920s & 1930s. Kitty was the first woman to earn a living as a garden designer & nurseywoman. More about her HERE.

Source

After eating our lunch we headed back home and spent the rest of the day basking on the lawn in the glorious sunshine. 

Tea was Greek-style spinach & Feta cheese parcels with salad. After I'd watered the garden we watched another episode of The Lawyer until Jon got a tune in his head and had to shut himself away in his music room. I caught up with Blogland with a spectacular electrical storm raging overhead.

WEARING: Gingham embroidered cotton midi (with pockets!) bought new from Zara's sale in 2017, cheesecloth batwing blouse & 1970s Greek souvenir bag (both charity shopped), sunglasses & vintage suede belt (car boot sales), Lotta from Stockholm clogs

On Wednesday (day 145) I was up at just after 6am. My Wii Fit told me that it was my 3900th workout. How time flies! I pottered around outside deadheading my geraniums until Jon joined me for breakfast. Originally we'd been told to expect rain so Jon's plan was to fit the skirting boards in the kitchen but the forecast had now changed to another day of sunshine and 35°C heat so we headed off to a garden centre instead.

Although I'd used their delivery services during lockdown, we'd not visited Pipers before and although it was a half-an-hour drive away we'd been so impressed with the quality of the plants (and their prices) we'd had from them back in the spring we thought it was worth the trip.

My intention was to buy some perennial plants for late Summer colour and after researching both the Gardener's World & RHS websites arrived at Piper's armed with a list of possibles. Despite many distractions, I settled on Phygelius Moonraker, Ceratostigma Plumagioniodes (which seems to grow in every garden in the neighbourhood except for ours), Cosmos Chocamocha, Black-eyed Susans, Delphinium Pagan Purples and Dusky Maidens, Geranium Tiny Monster and Scabiosa Misty Butterfly. 

We also bought a tray of lollo rosso lettuce & red cabbage plants as well as three pots of strawberries.

On the way back home we popped in at Liz and Al's for a coffee and a catch-up. Remember the sketch she'd done a few weeks ago? Here's the completed painting. I wonder what pose she'll have us doing next?!

Frank's been defending his territory again, he's got the battle scar to prove it.

Back at home we had a bowl of noodles, gave the lads some lunch - due to the heat they're eating little and often - and spent the rest of the day on the lawn until the rumble of thunder had us running for cover.

I'm really enjoying Cathedral of the Sea, an absorbing historical epic translated from Spanish & set in Medieval Barcelona.

We've got veggie sausages with sweet potato fries and vegetables for tea. I'm not sure what we'll be watching later but I know for certain that, as it's Wednesday, rum will be involved!

Stay safe & see you soon!