The Distancing Diaries - 1st & 2nd June, 2021

It was already warm and gloriously sunny when I got up just before 6am on Tuesday morning. I wandered around the garden barefoot with the lads at my heels and sang Happy Birthday to Frank who could be either 6 or 8 years old but, as a former stray, it's hard to know.

After my Wii Fit workout, I wrapped the weekend eBay sales and caught up with Blogland. The Severn Trent workers were already hard at it by the time Jon was up although the water stayed until just gone 9am. 

Whilst I divided up and repotted a houseplant and weeded between the patio pavers with my doobielacker (thanks to Shaz for introducing that incredible word to my vocabulary) Jon cut back three of the laurel bushes behind the pond, piling them up in the wilderness for shredding later in the week. For the remainder of the morning, I lay on the lawn finishing the book I'd started the previous evening, verdict: trashy & far-fetched but a decent read for a hot day.

Richard arrived with the post, a package from Helena who reads my blog and kindly sent this beautiful vintage Adini cotton sundress and Anokhi for East blouse my way along with a gorgeous postcard featuring artwork by Conchita Dunn. 

I'll be wearing the dress this week if this glorious weather continues and have plans to reconstruct the top into something a little more summery & skimpy. Thanks so much, Helena!

Just before lunchtime, the farm called to say they were on their way with the freshly-cut turf and arrived just after we'd eaten. 

We lay in the sun until the heat had abated and we got stuck in. We expected swearing and arguments but it was all down within an hour. Everyone who passed by was amazed at the difference, the grass is so green and lush. Check out my makeshift fence to keep the plebs off our lawn.

Tea was quiche with salad and the evening was spent watching The Antiques Roadtrip and, much to our excitement, they visited Stonor Castle, home to Lord Jon's 13x great-grandfather, Blessed Adrian.

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Despite the forecast being for cloud, Wednesday turned out glorious again. After my Wii Fit workout, I had a blogging catch-up and joined Jon for breakfast. After he'd made sandwiches we headed off to Shropshire, to the Dudmaston Estate which we'd last visited when dear friends, Ann and Jos were visiting the UK back in 2019 (HERE).

Dudmaston Hall has been a family home for 875 years and houses one of the most important collections of modern art in Britain including pieces by Moore, Matisse and Hepworth. We know that the current lord of the manor has fantastic taste, he's bought vintage clothes from us back when we used to trade at a vintage fair in nearby Bridgnorth!

The current mansion was built in the late 17th-century and is an example of a traditional Shropshire country estate, in that it comprises the main hall, the landscaped gardens, parkland, managed woodlands, lakeside, farmland and the estate cottages. Neighbouring Quatt is a model village designed by the architect John Birch in 1870 for the workers and tenants of the estate.

At temperatures nudging 28°C, the shimmering water in the Big Pool looked very inviting and we rather envied the cows!

Unlike the clever colour-themed planting at Hidcote, the gardens at Dudmaston were a riot of colour with brilliant ruby reds and dazzling pinks vying for our attention. Like many National Trust properties we'd visited, the gardeners were embracing #NoMowMay.

 

While the riotous colour was a joy, it was the otherworldly and downright weird planting near the pond that really caught our attention. I hope our gunnera gets this big!

I was very glad of my Santelli Francesca straw hat, handmade in Florence and sold through Anthropologie, new with tags from the charity clearance shop a couple of weeks ago. The 1970s maxi is Young Innocent by Arpeja, its poplin and as light as air. 

Dotted around the garden are sculptures by the artist, Anthony Twentyman. Born in nearby Wolverhampton in 1906, Tony honed his woodworking skills at his father's workshop in Claverley, just 2 miles up the road from Dudmaston. During WW2, Twentyman joined the RAF, was posted to Singapore and later captured and imprisoned by the Japanese for three and a half years. On his release, Tony weighed just four stone. To celebrate Dudmaston's 40 year anniversary of opening its doors to visitors there is an exhibition of Tony's work inside the house.

Dudmaston's resident cat, Pixie bears a striking resemblance to both Stephen Squirrel and Sheila's Vizzini.

After sandwiches and a mug of tea, we drove back to Walsall via the scenic route, a journey of just 40 minutes. 

 

Jon did the post office run and I spent the afternoon sprawled out on the lawn. I love this weather!

Although we'd got a spot of rain forecast for later we watered the garden (and the new lawn) before tucking into pizza and sweet potato wedges. Tonight it's the conclusion of The Killing followed by The Great British Sewing Bee and, needless to say, rum will be consumed!

See you soon!