The Distancing Diaries - 14th & 15th July, 2021

On Wednesday, after my Wii Fit workout, I wrapped my overnight sales, photographed and listed a few things on eBay and put on a load of washing which Jon pegged out once he was up. After breakfast, we headed off for our weekly National Trust adventure which, for the first time in 16 months, we didn't have to book in advance and, as it's the nearest property to home, we didn't need a packed lunch either.

The divine Wightwick Manor (pronounced wit-tick) on the outskirts of Wolverhampton city centre is a mere twelve-mile drive from home. Built in 1887, it is a rare survivor of the Arts and Crafts movement and was gifted to the National Trust in 1937 by the wealthy industrialist and radical liberal MP, Sir Geoffrey Mander and his wife, Lady Mander.

Despite not needing to book in advance, the gardens weren't too busy but the queue for the manor itself snaked along the courtyard but, as only the downstairs was open and we'd been inside back in November (HERE) we'd already decided to give it a miss until the next time.

I wore another of my vintage maxi dresses that hadn't seen the light of day in far too long. I bought this Dollyrockers cotton sundress back in 2010, the last time it made an appearance on the blog was in September 2019 when we were road tripping around Corfu. (HERE)

Mock Tudor gets a bad rep in the UK. It's usually associated with ostentatious new builds on "executive" housing estates. Wightwick's pseudo-Tudor frontage is a lot more classy and easy on the eye.

The planting scheme at Wightwick is astonishingly good, with wonderful beds packed with inspirational colour combinations and, of course, it's the place where we fell in love with roses, huge, blousy sweet-smelling blooms, wild, colourful and out of control.

In normal times this thatched hut is filled with books and visitors are encouraged to sit and read for as long as they like.

After seeing these beauties, Foxtail lilies go straight to the top of our gardening wish list!

Wightwick's Bear's Breeches are magnificent. You can buy them in their shop if they don't grow wild behind the shed in your garden, like ours did!  

I love Mexican Fleabane and am wildly envious of this magnificent display. 

Within minutes of posing for this photo, a freak gust of wind blew my hat off and into a bed of roses. Jon, ever the gentleman, risked life and limb (and multiple scratches) to retrieve it!

 We were back in time for lunch and hurriedly ate our noodles before stripping off and spending the remainder of the day on the lawn, basking in the sunshine. Later we ate cheese, pickles and olive bread and spent the evening drinking rum and watching two episodes of the six-part documentary series on Ernest Hemingway on the BBC i-Player.

SOURCE

On Thursday morning I had a wander around the garden, picked a fistful of strawberries and noted with joy that my first ever dahlia (grown from seed) had burst forth and my 10p petunias, marigolds and Fuschia had also started to flower.

The bees were already enjoying the alliums.

I mopped the hearth and swept the lounge floor, did my Wii Fit workout and caught up with blogland before Jon joined me for breakfast. We're enjoying some fabulous weather this week and although the day had started off cloudy, it was touching 23°C. I sorted some stock out from the shed, ironed it and photographed it leaving Jon to trawl Facebook Marketplace for adverts for free bricks and garden rubble. 

He got lucky with the first advert and dashed out to go and collect a vanload from a house a couple of miles ago. I listed my stock on eBay then did some weed pulling in the garden (bindweed & brambles, the bane of my life!)

Jon returned with his rubble at around the same time as Richard the postman bearing parcels. Another pair of Lottas! Some elusive gold leather ones sold out on the website. They haven't even been worn.

 One of my top eBay tips is to always select Seller's Other Items if you find something that catches your eye. I'd seen a skirt I rather liked but when I clicked on the link I was flabbergasted. The seller had some incredible (and cheap) pieces by high-end European designers all in my size. I can only assume she's a stylist or a model & given them for free to be able to sell them at those prices!

Founded by Cristel Boniface, Stella Forest focuses on sustainability with a passion for travel-inspired garments. Her clothes are created in India at a factory she has worked with for over 20 years and finished by hand in her Parisian workshop. She has boutiques throughout France. This silk maxi dress originally retailed at £295. The Ancient Greek "Eleftheria" braided leather sandals are handmade in Greece and retail at £145. The Masscob velvet jacket with ethnic braiding retails at £480 and there's currently a waiting list for it! Masscob is a Spanish label, which started in La Corona in 2003 and focuses on vintage style as opposed to trend-led fashion, they have branches in Palma de Mallorca, Madrid and Barcelona.

 

My clogs, jacket, dress and sandals cost the equivalent of a new pair of Lottas!

We had a break for noodles and then he got stuck in, unloading the van and wheeling it up the garden to form a base for the new mega-shed. He could buy seven tons of sub-base from the local builders' merchant but that would cost around £200. This way might take a week or so but it's free!

After I'd planted out more of Jon's seedlings and watered them in I adjourned to the lawn and started on my next book, Earthly Pleasures, the epic tale of John Tradescant, a Tudor gardener in the employ of Lord Robert Cecil during the reign of James I.

Jon brought me out a cold beer and Stephen joined me. He loves the sun.

Tea will be halloumi with roasted veg seasoned with rosemary from the garden. Later we'll be watching more of Ernest Hemingway and getting excited about a day out with friends tomorrow, we haven't seen them in almost two years!

See you soon.