Zoning Out - The Distancing Diaries Continue

 On Wednesday, after my Wii Fit workout and breakfast, Jon made sandwiches, filled the flask and we headed off thirty miles down the road to the neighbouring county of Worcestershire*. Our destination was Hanbury Hall, built in 1710 as a holiday home for millionaire lawyer and Whig MP, Thomas Vernon (1654 -1721). We'd last visited in 2017 and you can read my post about Hanbury Hall's somewhat scandalous history HERE.

* "You can travel for physical activity. Ideally use your nearest, local appropriate venue to reduce pressure on transport infrastructure. But you can travel to outdoor open space irrespective of distance. You shouldn’t travel with someone from outside your household." (Current government guidance for those of us living in a Covid High Alert Zone HERE)

In my haste to book our visit I hadn't realised that the downstairs of Hanbury Hall was now open to the public, the first time we'd been inside a house other than our own since March. Access was limited to  fifteen visitors so we'd timed our arrival perfectly with only three other people inside plus the two NT volunteers on duty. Masks were mandatory, which wasn't a problem as we've always got them with us. The last time we'd visited we'd shared the hall with a large crowd so it was lovely to be able to take our time and swoon over the hand flocked yellow wallpaper in the dining room and admire Hanbury Hall's pride and joy, the magnificent art by English painter James Thornhill (1676 - 1734) who was also commissioned to paint the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, Chatsworth House and the Royal Hospital at Greenwich.

The new normal...

The gardens, commissioned by Thomas Vernon, were designed and completed in 1701 by George London, in the very formal style of the time. They included the parterre, fruit garden and wilderness.

Now where's that chainsaw when you need it?

I'd love this dilapidated shepherd's hut in our garden.

WEARING: Vintage 1970s Afghan dress by Hindu Kush & tooled leather bag (both Ebay);Original Biba boots (inherited from Mum); Vintage 1970s suede coat by Suede & Leathercraft (Charity shop); Orange fedora (retail buy, October 2019)

The magnificent orangery was built in 1750 and was packed with citrus fruit trees. As you can imagine, the smell was divine.

Several visitors brought carrier bags to fill with the windfall apples littering the grounds, having recently gathered some from the neighbour's bough that overhangs our garden, I made do with filling my pockets with conkers instead.

The parterre was swept away by heiress Emma Vernon (1754 - 1818) when she inherited Hanbury Hall in 1776, preferring the more naturalised & fashionable landscapes favoured by Lancelot Capability Brown. In the mid 1990s, with help from several bequests and a European Union grant, the garden was carefully restored using the original plan, the distinguished surveyor, James Dougharty’s, 1731-1733 garden survey, and archaeological work to confirm the garden design accuracy.

Whilst the rigid formality isn't my style you can't help but to admire man's triumph over nature.

After a leisurely stroll around the grounds in the sunshine we returned to the van for cheese and pickled cucumber sandwiches and mugs of tea. Back at home I spent the remainder of the afternoon uploading and cropping my photos. We had some rather tasty posh pasta (stuffed with cheese & chilli) for tea, drank rum and watched another episode of Spooks as well as Ambulance.

Today (Thursday) I did my Wii Fit workout and had just finished wrapping my eBay parcels when Jon came downstairs. After breakfast he went the post office and to stock up on cat food from Pets At Home whilst I knocked up a crumble using the windfall apples we'd gathered earlier in the week and some strawberries lurking at the back of the freezer.

Once dressed I went outside, swept the patio and raked up the leaves. Jon arrived back just in time to help me squash them into the garden waste bin.

I was disappointed not to come back full of ideas after our visit to Hanbury Hall. It's an atmospheric place but somewhat lacking in inspirational planting schemes. 

Although we've still got plenty of colour in our pots and borders I'm always keen to introduce more. Maybe a trip to the garden centre will inspire me?

With so few clothes in my wardrobe now that I've packed away my hot weather gear & my more flamboyant stuff, I can see everything at a glance and I'm loving playing about with different combinations and wearing things that haven't seen the light of day for a few years.

WEARING: Tarantella suede skirt (part of a suit I bought from friends, G'n'T from the days when they used to be vintage sellers); Janet Wood for Monsoon Afghan blouse (eBay); Blue opaques (three for £1 basket in the charity shop); 1960s does Edwardian lace up leather & suede boots (car boot sale)

 

Today I wore my vintage Tarantella suede skirt along with the newest addition to my wardrobe, an Afghan embroidered Janet Wood blouse made for Monsoon in the early 1970s . I love that I own clothes that were made in Walsall. Find out more about Tarantella in the blog post I wrote HERE.

When I was saying goodbye to my parental home, The Cottage, for the final time I spotted a necklace of my Mum's, which she'd worn constantly when I was little, poking out from beneath the bedroom carpet. Very strange that, after years of the house being empty & visiting weekly, I'd never noticed it before. Talking of my Mum, it would have been her birthday yesterday (14th October) and Jon's mum, Peggy's, on the 16th. Much as we miss them we're quite relieved that they aren't around to experience these strange times, I've a feeling neither of them would have coped very well - although my Mum would probably have worn the most outrageous masks.

Lunch was open sandwiches with Roquefort, pickled cucumber plus our homegrown lollo rosso lettuce and tomatoes on sour dough bread. 

After lunch I pickled the nasturtium seeds which had been soaking for the past 48 hours and chopped and sliced the remainder of my tomato crop, ready to turn into chutney tomorrow.

The lads!

Jon had another go at fixing Gilbert whilst I assisted by revving the engine but alas, still no joy! He thinks the new alternator might be defective. I left him talking to the manufacturer while I sorted out my roots. 

Tea was veggie sausages, eggs, chips and peas. I can hardly move now. 

Stay safe, sane and fabulous. See you soon!

PS The government have just put Crete back on the safe travel corridor so, from today, you no longer need to self isolate when you return. I told you it was safe!