The Distancing Diaries - 23rd & 24th November, 2020

 Monday got off to a frosty start, the lads were back home by 7am and both ran upstairs to join Jon in bed. I did my Wii Fit workout, put the previous day's washing away and braved the icy temperatures to clean the kitchen door & windows. By the time I'd finished I was glowing. I took the plants down from the kitchen shelves and gave them a thorough watering before joining Jon for our fruit & yogurt breakfast.

 Jon popped out to fill the tank with fuel ready for tomorrow's National Trust outing while I swept and mopped the kitchen floor. Once he was back, Jon applied window film to the newly cleaned windows and I kept out of his way by sweeping the pathway that runs down by the Kinky Shed towards the pond.

It was so bright I needed sunglasses!  

MONDAY: Vintage Pakistani block printed kaftan & Heatgen thermal polo neck (both eBay), 1930s Liberty silk scarf (car boot sale, 2009), Hindu deity belt buckle (present from Liz), leather belt (charity shop)

After our lunchtime noodles I sorted out one of my two wardrobes in the spare room, packing away a couple of cheesecloth kaftans, two Indian cotton wraparound skirts and a lightweight embroidered blouse, swapping them for three warmer long sleeved maxi dresses and a wool skirt. I sorted out three pairs of boots to donate to the chazza when it reopens. I usually hang my Indian silk screen-printed scarves from a length of wire Jon attached to the inside of the wardrobe door but decided to hang my gloves there instead rather than having to tip the vanity case I store them in upside-down every time I need a pair. I also folded up my sheepskin hats and thicker scarves and placed them on the shelf in the wardrobe for easy access.

There's lots of old things in my wardrobe but the item I've owned for the longest must be the "Hand Bag" mittens on a string that came from Van Allen and I used to wear to infant school in 1971. Mum made and wore that crochet poncho in 1966 when she was expecting me! 

Tea was vegetable tikka massala with half a nan and some Indian snacks on the side. We watched the latest government announcement, where we learnt lockdown will end on 2nd December and revert back to the tier system but with Walsall registering almost 400 Covid cases per 100,000 I can't many of the restrictions being relaxed any time soon. Afterwards we got stuck in Danish thriller series, DNA. We've finally come to the end of Spooks. 

On Tuesday morning I did a Wii Fit workout and wrapped my eBay sales parcels before Jon joined me for breakfast. After he'd made sandwiches and filled the flask we set off for our weekly National Trust outing, abiding by the government guidelines and opting for a nearby destination, Charlecote Park, situated a couple of miles from Stratford-On-Avon, a forty minute drive away. 

It was the first time we'd visited Charlecote Park this year, having last been in August 2019 (HERE) to celebrate Jon's birthday. Back then we'd continued on to the town of Banbury where we'd had lunch in Wetherspoons and trawled the charity shops, normal activities that we used to take for granted. 

Charlecote Park consists of a grand 16th Century house surrounded by a deer park on the banks of the River Avon in Warwickshire. It was built by 1558 by Sir Thomas Lucy but extensively modernised from 1831 onwards so the building you see today is mostly Victorian. The grounds were landscaped by Capability Brown in 1760.

Whilst the house is beautiful the fallow deer steal the show. Completely unfazed by the visitors wandering around Charlecote, we stood watching them for ages, utterly mesmerised. It's said that William Shakespeare was caught poaching in the grounds of Charlecote Park and appeared in front of Sir Thomas Lucy then the local magistrate.

I'm wearing a vintage Ritu Kumar for Monsoon Indian block printed midi dress (Ebay), my 1960s suede coat (Second to None, Walsall), a vintage sheepskin hat (a gift from a blog friend back in 2011), Mum's Biba boots and a Missoni wool scarf Jon treated me to from a charity shop last year (it was £5).

The garden was a blaze of colour last year and the parterre (currently closed to the public) a sight to behold but the architecture, topiary and deer were more than enough to keep us entertained and the two-mile walk around the grounds was a wonderful way to blow away the cobwebs after a few days spent exclusively at home.

Another cold day! Jon's wearing Levi's skinnies (eBay), a wool pea coat by Great British Sewing Bee presenter Patrick Grant (charity shop), a wool scarf from FabIndia in Jodhpur and some Clarks' navy blue walking boots bought in-store about six years ago.

It's not all about the deer though, meet Charlecote's rare breed of Jacob sheep, I don't know whether they were pleased to see us or just pissed off by my sheepskin hat!

We ate our sandwiches and warmed ourselves up with piping hot mugs of Pukka turmeric tea (me) and black coffee (Jon) before driving back home where we spent the afternoon being slaves to the cats who, at the moment, can't decide whether in or out is best. I'm beginning to know how a doorman feels!

Tea was half a posh pizza with some sweet potato wedges. It's more DNA tonight and maybe a bit of blog catching-up in between.

Stay safe & see you soon!