Wild, Wet and Windy

 Friday. 8.50 a.m. St David's Day. I'm not Welsh, so it doesn't mean much to me. In England we do have St George's Day, but the English don't make much effort to celebrate the patrol saint's day. They do have a special St Georges's Day at Wrest Park, the English Heritage-managed garden and house, which is around halfway between Bedford and Luton.

It's a very wild and windy morning, with rain falling. Not a pleasant sort of day, and Alfie won't like it when I take him out.

10.20 a.m. It's bright and sunny as I write this. Just shows how quickly the weather changes in England!

Saturday. 8.25 a.m. I'm really saddened to hear of the death of Dave Myers, one half of the 'Hairy Biker's' chefs team. With his partner, Si King, they had a fresh approach to the idea of the male chef. Chefs have had a reputation, mostly begun probably by the likes of Gordon Ramsay, what I call 'all mouth and trousers,' shouting at his kitchen staff and using bad language. The 'Hairy Bikers' riding around on high-powered motorbikes, were far more gentle. Strange to think that they started out as make-up experts, working in television, but I have no idea how they managed to get into cooking.

I think their success was that you could identify with them. They weren't like many so-called 'celebrity chefs.' Nothing fancy about them. You got two blokes who rode motorbikes and were good at cooking and what they cooked wasn't fancy.

I've been into Sainsbury's this morning. The travelator is still being repaired (at least the down one is.) I'm still struggling to find things I buy regularly. Why this urge to move stuff around? I reckon it's to annoy their customers. The latest item to go missing is pâté. It has been in the same place for years and now I can't find it. I've wandered up and down the aisles, but I can't find it. Crazy.

I had an appointment at Central Milton Keynes Medical Centre at 11.20 this morning. It was to have a Shingles vaccine. I didn't know about this until I had my appointment the other day with the nurse who did my blood pressure. You can get it if you've had chickenpox and the virus remains dormant in your body, and you can get it once you get to around 65-70. As it can become quite painful if you get it, it seemed a good idea to have the vaccine. It is given in two doses, and you need the second one about six months after the first, and you're not fully protected until you get the second dose.

Sunday. 5.30 a.m. Yes, it is probably rather early to be writing this, but so what? 

I haven't had a violent reaction to yesterday's shingles vaccination, except a slight pain in my left arm, at the site where the needle went in. It made sleeping uncomfortable on that side, but it has gone done considerably.

7.10 a.m. Looking out of the window, it looks foggy.

Visit To Kenilworth Castle

Thursday. 12.40 p.m. Continuing my weekend away in Worcester. On Sunday we were all going to Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire, to a historic event with knights and a medieval theme to it. I have been to Kenilworth Castle before when Carol and I were members of English Heritage, and we got in free. Chloe and Steve are members, and we got reduced rates to get into this event. Steve managed to book online on Saturday. I was given an English Heritage sticker to put in my car's windscreen, and so got free parking at the castle. Steve went with the children in their car, and Chloe came with me in my car. It was around a 45-minute drive from Worcester to Kenilworth.

There were a number of things going on within the castle over the course of the day, including knights in armour taking part in archery, and other forms of medieval arms, such as fighting with staves, swords and so on. These were really full-on bouts and the whole gave a real theatrical atmosphere. Very colourful and exciting and the three boys, George, Eddie and Arthur seemed to be totally intrigued.  There were several sessions of different aspects of fighting, which ended around 3.30 with what is called a melee (do a Google search to discover what this is.)

Chloe had bought picnic food, so we were able to have something to eat during the course of the day. 

The three grandsons seemed to relish clambering about on the ruined sections of the castle. When we had our lunch, some distance away from the main activity of the history festival (for want of a description for the day's events.) George and Eddie climbed up a slope and seemed to enjoy enormously sliding down on their bottoms! As a result, their clothes got somewhat dirty, but what do you expect young boys to do? When there's such a great place to explore and then slide down, make the most of it.

We had a look inside the gatehouse, several floors of interesting stuff on the various characters who had either lived in Kenilworth Castle or who were connected to it in some way, which included Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley and then a walk around the Elizabethan garden, which was actually a reconstruction of what historians believed one was like and then we went to watch the falconry display, which was, as far as I was concerned, the best part of the whole day as I really enjoy seeing falcons and other birds of prey in flight.

Once we had seen the final session with the knights, it was time to leave for home. I thought it probably a good idea to move towards the car park before the rest of the crowds had the same idea, otherwise, we would have been inundated, and it would have taken some time to reach the car park, with one child in her pushchair/buggy (not sure which.) and rounding up the three boys. So we got to the car park and I bade farewell to them all as they were returning to Worcester and I was driving home to Milton Keynes.

Worcester and Wellies

Friday. 6.40 p.m. Yesterday (Thursday) I went to Sports Direct with the intention of buying a pair of Wellington Boots. I was certainly not paying somewhere in the region of £60-£100 for a pair, which seems totally ridiculous. Just a bog-standard pair of Dunlop Wellies and I browsed in the shoe department and chose Karrimor walking shoes, good solid shoes with, hopefully, tough soles. I think they will do the job admirably. I think I have mentioned the two pairs of Skechers began to leak water and thus became unwearable in wet weather. When I went to Chloe and Steve's around three years ago, just after Carol died. We all went out, and it was necessary for me to borrow a pair of Wellingtons, so it seemed a good idea to arm myself with them for the trip to visit again tomorrow. Chloe has told me we may be visiting an English Heritage property and wet weather gear is in order, so I will pack the Wellingtons as well as my bright yellow Regatta coat. She also said I should wear earplugs, no doubt because the four boys, George, Eddie, and Arthur, are somewhat boisterous and noisy. Well, that's what little boys do, so I won't be in the least bit surprised. Just be nice to see them all for the first time in almost two years.

Saturday. 6.00 a.m. So, today I'm going with Alfie to Worcester! I've sorted everything I need to take with me and will pack it all into the car and drive out of Milton Keynes. I topped up with diesel yesterday, which should see me well all the way there and back, so no time wasted on fuel on the way.

I managed to get everything loaded into the car, along with Alfie in the cage in the back of the car. He made a lot of noise, barking, and so on, but once we were moving and driving out of Milton Keynes he settled down for the rest of the journey. I know my way well to the M40, and it took around an hour before we eventually drove onto the motorway. Unfortunately, it was raining, although relatively lightly, but the moving traffic threw up spray, which obscured the motorway ahead and to some extent, behind, making overtaking somewhat hazardous, and I had to drive below the normal top speed, but it was necessary to keep safe. 

By the time I got off the M5 for Worcester, I had to use Google Maps to direct me to Steve and Chloe's home, and around ten minutes later I was drawing up outside their house. I was greeted at the door by George, Eddie, and Arthur. Really excited to see me! I just realized that it was almost two years since I visited. I briefly visited when I went to see Arthur after he was born, taken there by friends from church, but not for a longer visit.

After lunch, we went to Witley Court, an English Heritage property around a twenty-minute drive out of Worcester. It was just as well I had my wellies, as it was quite wet and muddy. The boys enjoyed playing on a climbing frame, which included a rope walk and a slope to scramble up. Then we went to the mansion area, now a ruin, because it had been burnt down in the 1930s. A Victorian pile, a real hodgepodge of styles, some neoclassical, some Italianate, lots of columns, and very excessive in style. It was interesting to be able to wander around inside the ruins of this mansion and see how it had been built and get a glimpse of what must have been a really impressive building. Interesting to see that the inside walls were rough brick and the exterior was covered by a relatively thin layer of dressed stone. All very similar to a set for a film or play, the audience side is painted to look 'real' and impressive whilst, if you go round the back, it's rough wood, plywood and canvas.

We had a picnic, sitting on the grass near the most magnificent fountain. It was somewhat in need of a good clean, but that didn't detract from its size and scope, some sort of, presumably, mythical horseman spearing what looked like a dragon. The horse had wings, although very small. Was it supposed to depict St George and The Dragon? Who knows. As we ate our picnic the fountain burst forth into life, water gushing out of the mouths of fishes and several from each side of the central section and a larger fountain in the centre of everything which shot into the air to a great height.

Witley Court fountain in action.

It was beginning to get dark by the time we walked back to the car. Back at Steve and Chloe's home, we unpacked the children (having for to deal with is somewhat like an army on manoeuvres. You have extra stuff with a six-month-old child to consider.) All loaded into each of the two cars, with me in Chloe's, and we got back to the house. 

We had supper (what do you call your evening meal? Dinner if you're posh, supper if you're not so posh? Tea? Which is what Carol used to call it. I suppose it depends on what area of the country you come from. Tea for me, when I was growing up was bread and butter with jam or honey or any sort of spread on it. Today it might be chocolate spread or peanut butter, followed by cake ('bread before cake!', as my mother used to say. I digress . . . ) 

Then time for bed. It was difficult sleeping in a single bed with Alfie . . . He's used to sharing my king-sized bed. I had his own cosy dog bed with me, bought from Milton Keynes. After some effort to keep him on the bed, he eventually decided it was easier to sleep in his own bed and I got a good night's sleep.

Next morning I was planning to go home early afternoon. Not before I'd been surprised with a birthday cake with one candle on (which I blew out!) presents, colourful socks and chocolates and then around midday we had a proper family roast lunch, which I haven't had in years. Sitting around a table is something I haven't done in quite a while. Then, packed up my belongings in the car, first installing Alfie in the cage in the boot, with quite a lot of barking. I managed to set the SatNav properly and for the first time I got the voice to work. Having said my goodbyes, I was off and soon on the M5, followed by the M42 and eventually the M40 and came off onto the main road which leads home through Buckingham and soon Milton Keynes hove into view and the journey just under two hours.

Blank Holiday Monday

I didn't realise until it was mentioned on BBC Breakfast this morning that today was a Bank Holiday Monday. As the lockdown has continued, as I've mentioned before in these blog posts, each day seems to merge into one another and it's virtually impossible to know even which day of the week it is, let alone whether it's a public holiday. But, as I write, it's bright and sunny. Ironic, come to think of it, because of the fact we're supposed to stay at home and go nowhere. Under 'normal' circumstances it would probably be pouring with rain and we'd be sitting at home! As it is, I don't see this continuing much longer. I just feel really sorry for those businesses which rely on the weather to be pleasant so that the get customers, for example, beauty spots, National Trust and English Heritage properties which rely on visitors to survive.

Later. Really hot and sticky in the flat, even with the windows open.
Labour are real hypocrites regarding the Dominic Cummings affair because at least four of their MPs have disregarded the social distancing regulations, but we don't hear anything about that on the BBC or other mainstream media. Neither does the newly installed leader, Keir Starmer, make any comment about that or at least sack these shadow ministers. They include: Tahir Ali, MP for Birmingham Green who attended a funeral;  Vaughan Gething, MP and shadow Health Minister; Stephen Kinnock, MP for County Durham and Kevan Jones, MP who attended a birthday party.  Disgraceful. Dominic Cummings clearly  made a mistake, but he is now being hounded mercilessly and they want his head on a block. So what's the difference? There is none. Now leave it alone and lets get on with getting through the pandemic and returning life as near as possible to normal.

Later. I am currently reading 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson. I may have mentioned that we were developing a piece of theatre based on this book as part of the drama workshop at Camphill. (which is where I would be today if it wasn't for the pandemic lockdown.) It's a terrific, old-fashioned boys adventure, but knowing about diversity and political correctness, I don't expect you're allowed to say that these days. As part of the development of the Camphill project, we first watched a rather ancient film version with Orson Welles at Long John Silver, and the idea was that we didn't create a direct adaptation of the novel, but the group would come up with their own ideas for the play (and including support staff, myself included.) and from that a script would be created. I have since watched the National Theatre production which was shown a few weeks ago as part of the 'The Show Must Go On' project, where this production was free to view on YouTube. I loved the set, which was spectacular and utilised the drum revolve which is in the stage of the Olivier Theatre. The over-all atmosphere created by the design of the set, costumes, music and the way it was presented was brilliant, but I'm not so over enthusiastic about the adaptation which seemed to take out any sense of conflict or danger. But they did manage to avoid all the cliches, such as Long John Silver, probably inspired by the 1950's Disney version which had Robert Newton in the iconic central role. It casts a long shadow over any later adaptation. The original novel is feisty and full of danger and has to be one of the best 'boy's adventure' novels ever written and has to be the blueprint for later novels, such as 'The Thirty-Nine Steps' and many other stories.

Wednesday. I've been intrigued to know what the silver, canister-style objects are which have been thrown all over the ground in the carpark right next to Oldbrook Green as I have been walking Alfie around during our daily outings. I put a message on Next-door and immediately got an answer. They are containers for nitrous oxide and actually used in catering equipment, such as cream charges, but the contents used by people who get a 'buzz' out of inhaling this substance, much the same as glue-sniffers, as they get a 'high' from it, a light-headedness. Empty, the containers are not dangerous, but it's the littering that's unnecessary. As I've said in earlier posts, the litter around the estate is getting worse and worse. I can't all be down to the effects on the lockdown. People are just lazy when there are adequate rubbish bins dotted around Oldbrook Green. Later I noticed that these silver objects (canisters for want of a better word) had disappeared so it would appear someone has taken notice of my mentioning them on Next-door.

Naughty Alfie!

Alfie has been in trouble! It's because he barks too much. I got a note thorough the door of the flat, from Barbara, who is the  S.H.O. (Sheltered Housing Officer) of Dexter House. Apparently someone (I have a fairly good idea who) says that they don't like Alfie barking. Well, he is a dog and dogs bark. It's hilarious if it weren't so pathetic. I have to take him out early in the morning. Well, all dogs need their walk, and it's important, nay, vital, for him to be able to relieve himself (do I have to go into precise detail? I don't think so.) Whenever I am preparing to take him out, I have to get my outdoor shoes on and generally arrange myself and Alfie soon picks up on this (which I think I have described in earlier blog posts. Because of the current pandemic situation, with 'social distancing,' we aren't supposed to meet one another and I imagine Barbra would have told me face-to-face. I think it's the fact that this 'person' didn't come and face me over this issue which annoys me. There is always someone why likes to stir up problems, not that it's a problem. I have to carry Alfie out (which can be difficult because he doesn't like it and wriggles somewhat.) which generally prevents his barking. There's really no more to be said about it. Dogs have doggy ways and that's the end of it! More or less.

Let me make it quite clear that Alfie is NOT naughty! He's the best little dog you could wish for and has been an amazing support to me as I coped with Carol going from her cancer diagnosis to her passing away. I don't know whether he misses her, it's difficult to know if he does or doesn't, but he's so affectionate and caring. Yes, of course he barks a lot, but only really when he gets excited. So, if it upsets someone, that's not my problem but theirs and, anyway, his barking doesn't last long and it's only because he gets excited.

(Thursday) It's getting very boring. But life goes on. It is 6.28a.m. as I write this. I am up, having had a shave (my day can't begin until this is done.) and sitting here in the lounge with Alfie staring at me on the sofa as he wants to go out, but I am reluctant to do so as he makes a noise as soon as I start to get ready to go out, so it will be a further half an hour or so.

(Later) I went onto Facebook to watch Ross doing the daily devotional, but I couldn't see the complete devotional because the screen went blank after barely 10 minutes, I think because of the internet connection. I imagine the internet is being stretched to it's limits and far beyond because of the current coronavirus situation and people being on lockdown and being at home and therefore (presumably) using the internet more than normal. As a result I gave up and took Alfie out for a walk around Oldbrook Green and when I got back I managed to sign in to Facebook and watch the recorded devotional. Just a bit frustrating but at least I managed to finish it completely. I just hope the same thing doesn't happen tonight with the Zoom communion we have planned.

Later Still. It would appear that the lockdown is going to continue. Under legislation, the government has to review the restrictions on such things as social distancing every 3 weeks and that time runs out next Thursday.

(Friday) Good Friday, in fact, but it really doesn't seem like Easter. It always seems to creep up on us virtually unannounced. It's not like Christmas, which has been hijacked by all and sundry and been over-commercialised. I think, because of the current situation with the coronavirus pandemic, things seem as if they're on hold.

I haven't been using my Canon detail SLR camera for somewhere, in fact, since Carol passed away. We used to take our cameras everywhere with us whenever we went visiting National Trust, English Heritage or Historic Houses Association properties and my computer has thousands of photographs on it, so many that many are stored on the cloud. I have been out and taken photographs using the telephoto lens in an attempt to get shots of the little robin which seems to follow me around and always sits and sings it's little heart out in the tree which over-hangs the path which Alfie and I walk along as we make our way to Oldbrook Green several times a day. I can't take the camera with me when I have Alfie as it's virtually impossible to get him to stand still and, holding and focussing a camera with a dog in tow is difficult, so I have to take him back to the flat first and collect the camera and return, with the hope that birdie hasn't flown away. The results are somewhat disappointing, but, at least I try. I had an idea for a photographic essay. Well, I think that's the term I mean, I would take photographs with my digital camera, in and around Oldbrook Green, on the subject of 'Spring.' I would take shots of buds, blossom, leaves, daffodils and then upload them onto Facebook. Which I did, not entirely successfully, as I couldn't set the camera so that I could get sharp close-ups of the items I chose, but eventually I got the settings correct and then, when I got back to the flat, I took out the card from the camera and put it into the MacBook, but for some strange reason the shots on the card would not upload.

Remembering Carol- Part 2

There's not enough room in one blog post for me to really write all I want to say about my late lovely wife Carol. So here's the second instalment. 

We found that we had plenty in common. We enjoyed each other's company. I went to her home in Crownhill for the first time and her little dog, Poppy, a West/Shitsu cross, must have taken to me, because she peed on my leg! Was that a sign that Carol and I had a future? Possibly. But it was a start. We went out together on quite a few occasions. She drove me all the way to Leicestershire in her Hyaundai Matrix and we visited the village of Thornton, where she lived up until 1979 when her family moved to Bournemouth. I saw the house where she lived and the infamous reservoir, or 'resize' as it was better known. I even saw the school which she attended. We went back more recently and also went into the newest town to Thornton, Coalville. 

Another day out we had together was to London. We went to Tate Modern, which I had never visited before but had always wanted to, since it was opened in 2000 by H.M. Queen. It was here that she thought she'd made a slight fool of herself, by her own admission. We were looking at a painting by the artist Monet, and she turned to me and said 'is it a real Monet?' To which I said that it was, and it seemed unlikely that the Tate gallery would have a fake. I wasn't in the least bit fazed by this remark, because anyone could have made that statement. Well, at least she appreciated art in the same way that i did. We spent some time in Tate Modern and then walked along the Thames embankment and past another place I was keen to visit, the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. I would very much like to see a performance but have, up until now, not done so.

We had other outings, which included a trip to Stowe Landscape Gardens near Buckingham. I think it was here that we decided because we loved visiting the properties managed by the National Trust that we'd join as members, which meant that we could gain free admission. We had several more visits to Stowe as well as to other NT sites, such as Waddesdon Manor, Anglesey Abbey, Wimple Hall and Home Farm and many other places. We also went on holiday together to Yorkshire, staying in a rented property in a village called Cowling. We visited Bradford, which is only a relatively short drive from Cowling, as well as nearby NT properties and also Saltaire, which is a World Heritage site. We saw a permanent exhibition of paintings and other material by David Hockney, one of my favourite modern painters. When, several years later, we went on holiday to Flamborough Head, we went into Bridlington, which is a few miles away, and we leant that Hockney had a house there and spent quite a lot of time in the town. Then he produced a series of paintings and  a sort of video installation which featured the landscape around Bridlington and within the Yorkshire Wolds and there was an exhibition of these paintings at the Royal Academy, of which David Hockney is a member. So, we had a shared interest in art and artists.

Carol was very spontaneous. She was always eager to get out and about. During the long summer holidays from her job at Milton Keynes Academy, we would we out virtually every week, going to different places. We very rarely sat indoors when the sun was out. We went to one of my favourite places, Whipsnade Zoo, which is no more than a 30-minute car journey down the A5 near Dunstable. We went on several occasions and had joint membership, which meant that once we were members we could visit as many times as we liked without having to pay. Then Carol discovered that, because she was a science teacher and also had a degree, she could become a Fellow of Z.S.L., the Zoological Society of London. I could go with her, as her guest! We could no only get free entry, but we could also take the car in, so in effect we saved something like £75-£80 each time we went into the zoo. We had many happy times visiting, loving the lemur walk-through exhibit, the butterfly house, as well as the meerkats and other animals.

So, we decided that we got on with one another. Our relationship blossomed and we decided that we should marry. So, exactly a year to the day I left hospital, on the 26th May 2007, we were married, at Rutland Road Church, which I was a member of when I lived in Bedford. A beautiful day, made even more beautiful by the fact that everyone at Rutland Road pitched in and made it what it was, providing all the music and the food for the reception. I was imagining that only a few people would attend, but it turned out the entire membership attended and made the day unbelievable, along with the whole church band.

Another time, on the way back from somewhere, I'm not exactly sure where we'd been, we stopped at Stonehenge. I had never visited before, had passed by, but never stopped. It's an interesting and quite amazing place and it was here we decided to join English Heritage, the organisation which co-manages the site along with the National Trust. So we were able to visit their sites, free, as we could with the National Trust membership.

It's no good. I still have lots more to say, so I'll end this post there and continue with a third blog post. Who knows? This might even stretch to a fourth.

Outing To Wrest Park

Yet again we had decent weather. It was far too good to sit around indoors. The thought of daytime television was enough to make you want to get out and with endless stupid football on every channel, even remotely connected with the World Cup, we spent some time deciding where to go. As we have membership of three organisations which allow free entry to places such as houses, castles and gardens, we were somewhat spoilt for choice, for example, the National Trust, English Heritage and H.H.A. (Historic Houses Association). Neither did we want to have to drive too far. You are supposed to be no more than 20 minutes from a National Trust property. Probably right if you include Stowe Landscape Garden (probably pushing it a bit. Probably 35-40 minutes), Ascott (maybe just over 20 minutes.). In the end we chose Wrest Park, which is off the A6 between Bedford and Luton. We have visited a couple of times in the past. it's around a 45 minute drive from Milton Keynes. They've had a large Heritage Lottery grant to restore the garden and they have a fairly new visitor centre with shop, restaurant and toilets as well as an up-graded carpark made out of, presumably, one of the walled gardens.

When we drove in (having found it quite difficult to find the road in at the centre of Silsoe. I think they've changed the signage somewhat off the A6.) there were coaches arriving. A similar situation to when we drove in at Waterperry on Wednesday morning.

We went into the restaurant, which was filling up with those people who had just arrived by coach. There was quite a long queue at the counter but Carol was determined to get us something to eat and drink after our journey. We had scones and jam and lattes and she bought some sandwiches and crisps which we took so we had something to eat once we began our walk around the grounds. Then we went into the gift shop (what National Trust or English Heritage property doesn't have a shop? Your visit always begins or ends in a gift shop. Even at Whipsnade the shop seems to loom large. Supposedly a good sauce of income for these places which are charities.) As we got to the ticket desk we were told that, as we were within the first 300 visitors that day, we would each receive a pot-plant. Quite a surprise. So we decided to take these plants back to put in the car as we didn't fancy carrying them around with us all morning. Besides which, it's unlikely they would have survived being carted around in a bag of some sort.

We went into the house. We have been inside before. The rooms are amazing, but there's no furniture. It used to be offices. something to do with agriculture. The National Agricultural Research Institute or something. There used to be an agricultural college in Silsoe at one time, part of Bedford College, but it would appear that it has gone and is now a housing estate.

There's no furniture in any of the rooms, which is a pity. The rooms are vast. Lots of carving, gold leaf and some of the ceilings are painted. Quit spectacular, as they are in a lot of these large country houses. It would be great if they could return as much as possible to make sure the place at least looks lived-in. But no doubt it was all sold off at some point in the house's long history, due to such things as debt or having to pay Death Duties. If it comes to that, it makes you wonder how close these houses came to being demolished, due to the cost of maintenance or the land being sold off for housing or other uses.

Statue and planting in garden at 

Wrest Park

The house from the garden at Wrest Park

We went outside and down towards the lake or Long Water. There were several marquees and tented structures all along the side of the grassed area. One where you could join a guided tour around the gardens with a driver who talked about how the gardens were developed and built. We had to wait around half-an-hour before the next tour began, but we were glad that we did as it was a really interesting tour around, stopping at various points where he explained how certain things were as they were, their history and so on. Considering the size of the gardens at Wrest, this seems a good way to get around. Many of these properties have some sort of transport to get visitors around, but usually they're for people who have some sort of mobility problem. At Stowe they have a sort of train that goes from the visitor's centre, where you park your car and buy your tickets, and there's a restaurant and shop. It's quite a long walk to the entrance of the garden, so a ride on some sort of motorised train is ideal. At Waddesdon Manor you park your car some way from the Manor and then get on a bus up to the Manor. We managed to get round Wrest Park instead of walking. It's a long way from the house up as far as the Archer Pavilion which you can see from the terrace and at the end of the Long Water.

View from terrace towards the

Archer Pavilion at Wrest Park.

When we were delivered back to the point where we began the guided tour, we left to discover an area we'd never been in before when we've been to Wrest on previous visits. There's a vast expanse of more naturalised garden, with a lake, bridge and a sort of Chinese pagoda which we've never seen before.

We eventually found a bench where we could sit and eat our sandwiches. I think we were in need of refreshment by this point. From there we gradually walked back towards the house and had a browse in the shop and then walked back to the carpark to drive home.

Tedious and Lack-Lustre Telly

It's spring and the birdies are singing their hearts out. It's warm and pleasant, but for reasons I won't go into in too much detail (but which would become apparent if you read my blog posts on a regular basis) we're stuck indoors. Under different circumstances, we'd be out and about visiting various properties managed by either the National Trust, English Heritage of the H.H.A. (Historic Houses Association). Instead, we're enduring some of the most unimaginative and positively tedious television to pass the time of day. I can't think why, with endless channels on Sky, there is such a total lack of imagination in programme-making at the present. All days on the main channels (BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel Four are identical (although, of the free-to-air channels, Channel Four is perhaps the least tied to it's regular daily line-up of programmes.) I mean, when I was a good deal younger, each day in telly land was different. You had different programmes for each day of the week, for example, a sitcom at 7.30 in the evening on a Monday, then a Tuesday probably a gameshow, Wednesday, probably a documentary and so on. Also, things like Play For Today or the Wednesday Play, which could often be hard-hitting, from a range of writers such as Dennis Potter or Alan Bleasdale. These would be one-offs. There were series and serials, such as The Onedin Line or The Brothers or going back further in time to the 1960's, Adam Adamant Lives and probably one of my favourites of all-time, The Avengers. Totally imaginative and very original. Now we just get the same shows on every day. Bargain Hunt is in the same slot on every day of the week, including Saturday and Sunday. Admittedly we do get quite a few good programmes, some excellent drama series and documentaries. But why do we have to have endless antiques, cookery and selling things shows? Why because something is popular do the schedulers think we're going to love more and more? Everything has to be ghettoised. Some of the best stuff the BBC does is on BBC Four. This stuff would have been put on BBC2, but even that has been overrun with endless gameshows and antiques shows. It was set up I seem to recall as being a sort of place for 'distinctive' programming. So where's it all gone wrong? Why don't we get such programmes as 'Not The Nine O'clock News' which could be quite biting satirically. We don't get satire any more, particularly when we have such an awful set of politicians who need to be satirised. Donald Trump is one such, but would you believe in him? Not really, as he's just one big comic character really ripe for satire.

I read all of Gerald Durrell's books when I was a teenager. I read the first one 'My Family and Other Animals' when i bought a second-hand copy of it as a paperback from a stall at Cardington church fetê. I loved it and read almost everything else Durrell wrote. I was more than excited when the BBC did an adaptation of the books back in the 1980's. A fairly reasonable and accurate adaptation. I think they might have done a sort of 'one-off' movie version sometime later, but I can't exactly say when or if that's true. Then ITV announced that they were doing a series based on the 'Corfu Trilogy,' (I think I'm right in saying, unless it's just based on 'My Family and Other Animals.' We watched the first two series of this, and I have to say it was reasonable. But I can't say I recognise any of the books from these adaptations. They've taken incredible liberties with the stories and characters. The books are centred very much on Gerry, the youngest of the Durrell children, but in the television version he has a much smaller role to play, intact he's quite a minor character in these shows. The wildlife doesn't play such a central role in this ITV version. But I've given up on watching the third series because it really has wandered away from what I remember of the books. They have just not held my attention so I'd ratter invest my time and effort of something else, such as reading. I wrote about the first series in an earlier post when this show first aired. But I'm afraid it has deteriorated considerably since the first season which is a great pity. I don't think I'll bother to watch any more.

Eighth Chemotherapy Cycle Postponed

We got news late yesterday afternoon that it was fine for Carol's next chemotherapy cycle to be postponed for another week, the week after the Easter holiday. As mentioned in an earlier blog post, her recent blood test didn't show enough of a certain element which, if the chemotherapy was to take place as scheduled,  would mean she would be open to infection. It now means that her mum and dad can come and visit. We've yet to decide where we're visiting. As long as the weather is fine, we have several National Trust properties lined up, or even an English Heritage one. But I won't mention where on here, for obvious reasons.

Not a lot for me to write about over the past weekend. I think my posts have become a bit repetitive, since we haven't been anywhere interesting since the diagnosis back in late August/September.

As I write this (at 6.35 a.m.) I can hear rain on the lounge window. It's considerably colder of late. We turned the central heating down, so no doubt we'll turn it up again.

We've been looking for a new vacuum cleaner. Carol has suggested getting a cordless one, which is lighter and easier for her to use. It does make sense. The old one we have is alright up to a point, but it clogs up quickly and the hose is a nuisance. Also, with a plug-in model you are somewhat restricted by the cable. A cordless one would make cleaning the stairs, for example, much easier. We keep seeing advertising on television for a G-Tech vacuum cleaner. I've been looking on-line at retail outlets who stock the various machines made by the competition, Argos, John Lewis and Curry's have different models. You can buy a G-Tech on-line, according to the advertising. We went to Curry's early, but they don't stock this particular brand. We tried two Dyson models. Very much more expensive than the G-Tech.

We then went to park in the multi-storey carpark near Debenham's and walked down through the store. There was a sale on in the store and then left to walk through the shopping centre. We went into Marks and Spencer and I bought a new polo shirt and then we continued to walk towards John Lewis.  The electronics department is now on the ground floor (the store was given a make-over a couple of years ago) and we found the vacuum cleaners and a G-Tech on display. From having a demonstration by one of the sales assistants we found it to be good at it's job and decided to buy one. We didn't want to carry the parcel back through the shopping centre, so we managed to have it ready to pick up from the pick-up point, so we walked back to the Debenham's carpark. We stopped off at McDonald's to have burgers for lunch, using a very efficient computer screen to order and pay. We sat outside the store to eat and then walked on to collect the car from the carpark and drove round the shopping centre. It wasn't possible to drive around where we expected to be able to drive, due to building works near John Lewis. A new carpark, but managed to find a space nearer the collection point and I walked in to collect the G-Tech, very well packed up by the staff. There seems to be quite a considerable amount of building going on in and around Milton Keynes at the moment.

On arrival home we set up the G-Tech and got it charging. As I write it's fully charged and ready to try out on the lounge carpet.

A Happy New Year

Another year begins. I just hope it's better than 2017. The last six months or so have been incredibly difficult for myself and Carol, since her cancer diagnosis. You can't believe how stressful and difficult is has been, not just the diagnosis, but the fact of having Carol in hospital for three weeks and having to cope with going to the oncology unit at Milton Keynes Hospital on a regular basis for the treatment. It's as well we live so close to the hospital as it makes it so much easier having to drive only a short distance. Also, since discovering that we can park immediately behind the oncology unit it make it easier to walk into the unit. It's a pity that no-one thought to tell me that you could park so close, particularly as you could see the carpark from the room which Carol was in when she was in hospital. I was under the impression that it was for staff only.

We're not the sort of people who like being indoors for any length of time. The fact that currently Carol is experiencing a great deal of pain means we can't go out and about as we would have done during the summer months. Even on Boxing Day on previous years we've visited Whipsnade Zoo. We'd rejoined English Heritage, National Trust and H.H.A. (Historic Houses Association) as we had planned our summer around visiting the properties managed by all these organisations and with Carol's Fellowship of Z.S.L. (Zoological Society of London) we can visit Whipsnade and London Zoo as many times as we like without paying for entrance. If you read this blog regularly you will have discovered how many times we've been to Whipsnade, although we had intended visiting London Zoo over the summer.

So, to those who follow my blog posts, here's to a happy and prosperous 2018 to you all!

Fine and Sunny, But Cold

We visited Hobbycraft at Rooksley on Thursday morning because Carol was looking for something to keep all her crocheting bits and pieces in. Even though it's a Thursday and early it was surprisingly busy. People going slightly potty because it's almost Christmas. We looked in Smyth's, which replaced the Comet warehouse which used to be in that unit until they went bust. We'd seen a special English Heritage edition of the boardgame Cluedo, which we rather fancied, but is currently out of stock. I don't think it will be sold anywhere else except in an English Heritage shop at their properties, and we haven't seen it on Amazon or in Toys R Us, but we had to look in Smyth's. Then we walked along to Hobbycraft but we couldn't find anything worth having for Carol's crochet bits and pieces but we bought a couple of large balls of wool, one of which she will turn into a scarf for myself. We went into Costa's, a few doors along and part of Next Home. We had Billionaire's hot chocolate. I had to queue for some time to get served and when I reached the till I was told that they had no cream to put in our drinks. I don't think the manager (I presume that was his role.) didn't seem amused when I asked for a reduction of the price considering they had no cream. It was nice, hot choc with a layer of caramel at the bottom of the glass, although a bit sickly-sweet. Nevertheless, it was nice to get out of the house. We wandered around the Next store, which was all household items, furniture and accessories and a lot of Christmas decorations.

We drove back home via Watling Street and then came down Chaffron Way. It's clear why this section of road was closed off on Sunday when I went to Shenley Christian Fellowship on Sunday morning, because there were sections which have been resurfaced. It would have been difficult to do any work with traffic moving through. 

Current Reading

I'm interested in history. I think there's something really fascinating in learning about what happened in the past, how things perhaps several hundred years ago have an impact on things today. I've read several books on 20th century history, first the Andrew Marr 2-book The Making of Modern Britain. The first goes from the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 up until the end of World War 2 and he second from 1945 up until the present day. I have Peter Ackroyd's first four books of his four-part series on the History of England.  The first is called 'Foundation, 'the second, 'Tudors', the third 'Civil War', and the fourth 'Revolution.' I'm not sure exactly when the final two books will be published or how far the series is likely to go. All these are worth reading. I've just finished reading 'Hope and Glory' by Peter Clarke, a history of the 20th century. I had wanted to read up as much as possible about the history of this period, so as to get a better understanding of why we're where we are now, with such things as Brexit, the E.U. and so on. I probably know more about the Tudor period, in particular anything to do with William Shakespeare, rather than this century.

My interest in history has always been there, but as we are members of both the National Trust and English Heritage you can't be ignorant of all the properties we visit which have connections to some aspect of history. One of our favourite places is Kenilworth Castle. It is a place just brimming over with history, particularly when connected to Queen Elizabeth 1. I read BBC History Magazine and recently started a subscription to History Today, which has had a revamp and is now in a far more compact format.

I've got a copy of  'The H.G. Wells Complete Short Stories.' I had watched a Sky Arts series called 'The Nightmare World of H.G. Wells,' which took a handful of his short stories and adapted them, rather in the style of 'Tales of The Unexpected' or 'The Outer Limits,' which are fantasy or science fiction-based shows. They did four of the stories as 2016 was the 150th anniversary of his birth. They adapted 'The Purple Pileus, 'The Moth', 'The Late Mr Elvisham,' and 'The Devotee of Art,' I've read the most famous story in the collection, which is a good deal longer than the average short story (I think it would be termed a novella) 'The Time Machine' and have read several of his novels, such as 'The Invisible Man' and 'War of The Worlds' but don't know the other stories so well. Today I read 'The Strange Orchid.' All these are exceptionally creepy and strange and not to be read when it's dark. I think 'The Strange Orchid' must have been the inspiration for 'Little Shop of Horrors.' 'The Time Machine', which I'm currently re-reading, is so good because it's convincing. The opening sequence, where 'The Time-Traveller' (who is never given his real name) is explaining his theories of time-travel, is done in such a way you can't not get drawn in, in a similar way to those of his friends who he's talking to. Then I have to ask, who is telling the story? As it's a first-person narrative, are we supposed to believe that it's actually H.G.Wells himself? It's no clear whether it is, but one is lead to suppose that it must be, probably because he wrote the story.

We have a bookcase which is bulging with books. Infact, we probably have more books than most people would usually have. A good deal of them need sorting and taking to a charity shop as they aren't likely to be read again. 

New Car and other things-Part2

We made the decision to go with the Renault Captur at Evans Halshaw. We discovered that there's no Road Fund Tax to pay on the car because it has low emissions. After so many years of driving it seems odd to not pay for a licence.  We had to go into the NatWest to have the money transferred to the dealer's account. No end of identification details at the bank, presumably to make sure it was all legal and above-board. I can see why, because of criminals laundering money and the threat of possibly funding such things as terrorism. It all went through without any problems. We had already paid a £200 deposit from my Nationwide account and we couldn't collect the new car until the next Monday as it had to be MoT'd and valeted and have final checks done before we could take delivery. The old car had to be cleared out and we needed the paperwork to hand over to Evans Halshaw, such as the Registration documents as well as MoT certificate. After a hunt around the house they were located, so fortunately there was no problem. The Registration document sent off to Swansea to make sure we are no longer the registered owners of the old car. It has since been acknowledged by them as the document had arrived and they responded that all details were transferred.

The new car has a built in SaNav. We already have a portable Garmin model which we got last year and we've managed to set up and use successfully. It's important to upgrade the computerised maps these things contain because roads are constantly being changed, new roads added when new housing estates and roundabouts are opened and constructed. The TomTom within the Renault is somewhat out of date so we need to discover how to upgrade the maps within it.

The other thing which is new to us is the fact it doesn't have a traditional 'key' as such to start the car. You get a sort of 'card' with the usual remote buttons to unlock the car doors and to start the car you insert this plastic 'key' into the slot in the dashboard and put your foot on the brake and clutch pedal and then press another button to activate the engine. Takes quite a lot of time to get used to, but far more economical in the long run.

Anyway, we went to collect the new car on the Monday and Carol drove it first. When we eventually got home I drove round the estate. It's probably that bit bigger than the old car. For a start it has four doors and probably a bigger boot.

We drove back towards Milton Keynes and stopped off at Marston Mortaine, to the Millennium Country Park which we've visited on several occasions. To use the toilets and to have a snack. Quite a nice café and a great place for children. We sat and could see children and parents outside, the children happily playing in the playground. How many parents dump their children in these playgrounds (generally safe, with a fence all round and a gate which stops dogs getting in and fouling the area.) but some parents are more keen on sitting and gossiping with their friends, drinking coffee and constantly checking their mobiles. I sometimes think these things cause more problems than they solve.

We had planned to do a wide variety of things during Carol's school holiday break. We've been members of the National Trust for quite a number of years now. We visit some of their sites frequently, as you will have discovered if you read these blog posts on a regular basis, such as Stowe Landscape Gardens, Waddesdon Manor and Wimpole Hall and Home Farm. We'd rejoined English Heritage. Both the National Trust and English Heritage allow you to pay in monthly instalments, which I suppose means that more people can afford to pay in instalments which makes it far easier. A good move on both their parts. English Heritage manage a good many historical sites, one near here being Wrest Park which we've been to on quite a number of occasions. Also, the H.H.A. (Historic Houses Association). We have been to Blenheim Palace using our H.H.A. membership. Last summer, which was really hot virtually throughout, we managed to visit many places. With Carol not being well it has been difficult to visit any of these places although we have been to Castle Ashby, not on either organisation's 'free entry' list but well worth a visit. It's not too far either, through Olney and driving towards Northampton. Lastly, Carol revived her Fellowship membership of Z.S.L. (Zoological Society of London) and we've already visited Whipsnade twice since reinstating the membership.

Last week we visited somewhere new which we only discovered, quite by accident. I was on Google Maps looking for something entirely different and found a place marked on the map, called Crocodiles of The World. I told Carol about it and she was more than interested to visit. Not only were there crocodiles there but a komodo dragon which she was keen to see. A large pool containing no less than 30 crocs which we saw being fed, which was quite spectacular as the man feeding them stood on a sort of platform over the water and kept feeding them with a pole with a sort of hook that could release the bits of chicken and each time he held it out over the water many of the crocodiles would jump up to get the food!

Another Outing To Woburn Abbey

Carol has had a really horrible cold over the past week or so. She thinks she caught it off someone in her department at Milton Keynes Academy. That, as well as the miserable weather over the past couple of days, particularly last Saturday, meant we didn't get out of the house, but on Sunday morning we had a real need to get out and decided on a visit to Woburn Abbey. As we are now members of the H.H.A. (Historic Houses Association) it meant we could get in free. This works in a similar way to the National Trust (which we are members of) and English Heritage (which we used to belong to but are no longer.) you pay a yearly membership and then can get into the properties they manage without paying. So, on average you can pay something like £75 for a year for both of us and when you consider that Woburn costs £16 per person, you can see that, if you visit enough properties over the year, how much value there is in these memberships. 

We drove over to Woburn and went through the entrance and then took the two-mile drive through the deer park, driving at around 20 M.P.H. We managed to get some great shots of some of the deer, using my new Canon camera with the macro lens which I have recently bought, meaning I can get some far closer shots than with the lens the camera came with. Fortunately, the weather was fine, which was just as well, because as I write this post it's raining heavily.

We parked up in the carpark and went into the Abbey grounds, through the shop. I have noticed that they have improved the range of items for sale and particularly a book about Woburn Abbey which costs around £35 which I think I'd prefer rather than having the guide book as it looks as if it's far more detailed. We had coffee and a snack in the restaurant. Called the Duchesses Tea Room, because it was one of the Duchesses of Bedford, Anna, the 7th Duchess, in the early nineteenth century, who is supposed to have introduced the idea of afternoon tea to this country. We were intrigued by the ducks who came wandering into the restaurant when we were in there. They were mingling with the customers outside as well as in. I did manage to take a few photographs of them.

The whole of the grounds at Woburn Abbey seem to exude peace and quiet. I can't think of many places which are so quiet. No sound of traffic can be heard. It's like a sort of oasis of calm, which is great when you think how noisy everywhere is, particularly if you live in a town such as Milton Keynes where you are always surrounded by traffic and the constant noise it makes.

We went into the main house. We have visited before, but it was quite a few years ago, and there's so much to see you couldn't possibly see it all in one visit. We were really enthralled by the antique furniture and the amazing paintings, some from virtually every era of English history. The room stewards are very well-versed in their knowledge of each room we visited and what they contained, for example, the furniture and the paintings. Some places we have visited the staff can be a bit off-hand, or snooty, to say the least, but these people are very friendly and willing to chat with you and answer any questions you may have. Another aspect  I noticed was that the toilets have been improved and up graded. If there's one thing that can put you off visiting such places as Woburn Abbey and that's when the toilets don't come up to standard. They are really clean and pleasant. I don't think it can take much to just keep them up to date and in top-notch condition. Just a little care and attention to such things wouldn't hurt in other places we visit. When you consider how much the cost of entry to such places is, surely they can spend some of their profits on upgrading the facilities. Woburn particularly must be one of the leading tourist destinations for foreign visitors, particularly from America, so it would give a poor message to them to pass on to friends and family if the toilets are not up to standard.

Woburn Abbey Visit

We're just getting over our trip to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne over the weekend. I have to say, in normal circumstances we would never have driven so far in so few days. We would have no doubt had a holiday after our work shifting Daniel's belongings from flat-to-flat, much as we did when we went down to Devon for Chloe and Steve's wedding two years ago (incidentally, exactly two years to the day.) so that we had around a week between the journey there and back. We've had a couple of days just resting up. So we decided to have a trip out, even though it wasn't going to be far, to Woburn Abbey, no more than a fifteen-minute car ride away down the A5. We haven't been to the Abbey for quite a while, three or four years at the least, although we do occasionally drive through the park to see the deer.

 Statue of horse "Mrs Moss"

 Fallow deer in the park

 Carol in the Hornbeam Maze

Cockerel which followed us around the gardens

Having parked the car we went into the gardens, through the gift shop (how is it that so many stately homes and in particular those run and operated by the National Trust and English Heritage, always insist on you having to go through their gift shops or at least having to make a detour which has you ending up in the shop? Very crafty ploy to get you to spend your hard-earned money.) We spent around an hour and a half wandering around the magnificent gardens and saw some enormous fish in the fish-pond. Presumably carp. It was difficult to get any really decent photographs due to the reflection of the water. There seem to be quite a few alterations since we last visited, particularly several Chinese-style follies which I'm sure we haven't seen before and a new garden section. We heard a cockerel crowing and then saw it and then it came to find us and insisted on following us across the lawns towards a caged area which contained some extremely colourful birds which I presume are pheasants of some sort. Then the cockerel wandered away, fortunately, as it was beginning to get quite aggressive and who knows what a cockerel is going to get up to. No doubt it was after food.

The place was virtually deserted, no doubt because it was mid-week, but there were quite a few cars in the carpark.

Then we went to the restaurant and had coffee and cake, although to be honest it was somewhat over-priced for what it was and the coffee wasn't very warm. We did look at the sandwiches but they were really over-priced at nearly £4 which seems somewhat excessive. Not impressed, I'm afraid, considering how many visitors they are likely to get and the fact that Woburn Abbey is supposed to be perhaps the leading visitor attraction in Britain, or would be on a tourist's list of places to visit when in Britain. No doubt many American tourists would visit the place when in Britain amongst others. Then into the gift shop on our way out and, frankly, that wasn't exactly brilliant as it hasn't got a very exciting range of products when I compare it with other places we've visited recently, particularly National Trust properties such as Waddesdon Manor, Basildon Park and Packwood House which we've been to in the past few months or even Whipsnade Zoo which has a smart new shop and visitor centre. It seems that Woburn haven't made a lot of effort. The toilet block you come to from the carpark doesn't look very inviting either although the toilet I used within the grounds, I think it was intended for disabled visitors (although, in all honesty, how anyone in a wheelchair would manage, particularly one of those electric self-drive wheelchairs, how would they manage the narrow doorway, I have no idea.

One area we discovered which we were not aware of when we last visited was the Hornbeam Maze. Though, to be honest, it may have been restored and had perhaps been left to get somewhat over-grown. 

The visit overall was pleasant as the place is very quiet and relaxing and no doubt we'll be visiting again soon. We came last time when they had a sculpture exhibition in the garden but this time this wasn't on. As it's so close to home it is certainly a pleasant place to visit but next time we'll forgo visiting the restaurant and take our own picnic and eat it in the car in the carpark or perhaps sitting at one of the many picnic tables dotted around the grounds.

Kenilworth Castle Outing

On Wednesday, as it was such a fine and sunny day, we decided to go to Kenilworth Castle. It has been somewhat undecided as regards the weather over the past couple of days and it has been quite over-cast and threatened rain. We wanted to get the most out of our membership of English Heritage. We've been once before, around six years ago. That time I seem to remember it was quite cold and we had soup in the restaurant. They had begun work on building the Elizabethan Garden, so it would be great to visit again and see it completed. Or that was the hope this time. The first time we joined was when we came back from a few days away we had for our first wedding anniversary in 2008 when we'd been to Chesil Beach and on he way back we went to Stonehenge. I find that a really intriguing place and would like to visit again since they've made some major changes there as well as opening a new visitor centre. We passed the site when we went down to Devon last August for Chloe and Steve's wedding.

The Elizabethan Garden at Kenilworth Castle

We drove out of Milton Keynes and went up the A5 and crossed over to Leamington Spa and got to Kenilworth that way. They have made quite a number of changes at the castle since we last visited, notably the Elizabethan garden, which, as I mentioned earlier, was being constructed the last time we visited. Having an interest in history (we  English Heritage joined this time with a discount from BBC History Magazine which I have a subscription to.) and it's amazing to see the place which is quite central to quite a few 'bits' of English history, notably Elizabeth I and her relationship with Robert Dudley. Also, as I'm something of a William Shakespeare fan and the fact that Stratford-Upon-Avon is so near. I did a course earlier this year on Shakespeare's World and part of it mentioned the fact that possibly Shakespeare visited Kenilworth when Elizabeth was there (although there is no definite documentary evidence for this.) as he mentions something in A Midsummer Night's Dream which could possibly allude to the masque that was performed there. The 'play within a play', the 'Pyramus and Thysbe' story is almost a parody of such a masque.

We wandered about the castle and took plenty of photographs, as we almost always do when we visit such places. They have now put walk-ways up along some of the ruined sections of the castle and you can see how the castle was built.

We wanted something to eat and went into the restaurant which is built inside the stable block. It was very busy as there were children's activities going on within the castle so a great many families with children, one in particular was very noisy and screaming. Carol had to queue up and I went outside to find a vacant table to sit. It became quite over-cast and there were a few drops of rain unfortunately, so after around 3 hours we decided to return home, but this time we went home via the Motorway, getting on the M6 near Birmingham which joins the M1 further south and gradually home to Milton Keynes.

Outing to Wrest Park

Yesterday, Tuesday, we thought we'd make the most of the weather as well as get the benefit of our newly-acquired English Heritage membership and visit Wrest Park. The weather has been playing tricks over the last few days, and the weather forecast has said it has something to do with Hurricane Bertha on the west of the Atlantic and we've had the tail-end of this hurricane with high winds and torrential rain. We have a slight problem with the car; the windscreen wipers don't work. Those which clear the rear window have a tendency to come on unexpectedly when we're driving along so it must be a fault with the fuses or something and needs work doing to it to get it corrected, so we're none too keen to go out when it's raining. But we've been cooped up indoors for the past few weeks and the car is working again so it seemed a good idea to go out. We left around 8.30 which would give us more than enough time to drive across to Silsoe, where Wrest Park is. It's on the A6 around half way between Bedford and Luton and we've been there before when we previously had English Heritage membership. The grounds didn't open until 10 a.m. so as we got to Silsoe with around 45 minutes to spare we decided to drive on to Barton-Le-Clay and visit the watermill there which has shops and a garden centre in it. Quite nice to wander around and it has an antiques centre and a shop which appealed to Carol which sells a wide selection of teddy bears one of which she has got her eye on as a Christmas present.

View towards the Archer Pavilion from the Mansion at Wrest Park

The Archer Pavilion at Wrest Park

The Mansion at Wrest Park from across the Long Pond

We drove back to Silsoe and in to the carpark at Wrest Park. There's been quite a few changes since we last visited, the carpark being now in what looks as if it was probably a walled garden. You drive in through an archway. There's now a visitor centre, restaurant and gift shop and you walk in from the side and not through the front of the mansion which was the old entrance. They have recently had a £20 million Heritage Lottery grant to restore the garden and mansion back to it's glory days. There is also a children's play area which I don't remember from our earlier visit. We walked the length of the grounds towards the Archer Pavilion and along one of the lakes. It must be at least a mile from the mansion. We turned back and got to the restaurant in good time as it began to rain and the place was inundated with other visitors and scores of children. We bought the obligatory handbook (we now have a growing collection from the other National Trust and English Heritage properties we have visited.) and decided it would be a good idea to leave as the rain came on heavily. Fortunately it cleared up as we headed back towards Milton Keynes and the fact that the windscreen wipers were not working wasn't a problem.

Rejoining Z.S.L. and English Heritage

We've rejoined two organisations we've been members of in the past, English Heritage and Z.S.L. (Zoological Society of London) We can now visit London Zoo and Whipsnade without having to pay. Having a year's membership of both means we now have somewhere to visit within a reasonable driving distance. It's around a 40-minute drive through Dunstable, down the A5 to Whipsnade and as members you can get in without queuing as you go through a special gate. We will no doubt have to have our photographs when we visit as they put these on your membership cards. Also, with English Heritage we've quite a few properties which are within a fairly short drive of Milton Keynes, such as Wrest Park, which is between Bedford and Luton on the A6.

Hot Weather Threatened

We are being told that today may be the hottest day of the summer so far. Infact we are being warned to stay indoors. Carol suffers from asthma and I have to be careful with my heart condition not to get too over-heated. The pollen count is high and it's been very hot and stuffy over-night making sleeping difficult. We have got an electric fan on in our bedroom which makes quite a noise and also having the windows open means that there are extraneous sounds coming in which sets the dogs off barking. It seems you simply can't win with the weather in this country. It's either far too cold, with snow and ice, fog, rain etc. or at the other extreme it's so hot you can barely breathe. There is never a mid-way, happy medium. Carol has two more days at the Academy and then she's off for around six weeks for the summer holidays. We've just re-joined English Heritage so hopefully we can go on some interesting visits to castles, country houses and other intriguing places throughout England. We were members a few years ago and joined when we visited Stonehenge and also went to the History Festival run by English Heritage which is staged every year at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire. We also went to Kenilworth Castle which is one of our favourite places and hope to go to Wrest Park which is currently being restored to it's former glory. All are free to enter if you are a member of English Heritage. I have a subscription to BBC History Magazine and we got a discount for being a subscriber so we thought we'd make use of the discount and join. We are going to London sometime over the holiday and plan to go to London Zoo. We have got a 'buy one get one free' offer of entry for the zoo when we buy our rail ticket and have already printed off the voucher from the National Rail website.

Holiday Over

It has certainly been a strange few weeks. Holiday it might have been, and Christmas and New Year, but we haven't done a great deal. The weather and the snow in particular, has meant that we haven't been out and about as much as we would if the weather had been better. Being cooped up in the house hasn't exactly helped. I'm not a great one for sitting about indoors for days on end. As a couple Carol and I like to get out and visit places. We're members of the National Trust and have also been members of English Heritage and something called the H.H.A. (Historic Houses Association). Once you join these organisations you can visit these places free. It makes a great day out and means you don't pay for entry. When we were H.H.A. members, for example, we went to Blenheim Palace near Oxford. Normally single entry is around £15 each (I'd have to visit their website to find out the actual current entry price per person.) so, to get in free after being H.H.A. members meant we saved something like £30. Over a year we can visit more than enough properties to make it worth our while being members of these organisations and cover the cost of membership. At the moment most of these properties are closed, although some of the English Heritage sites do remain open throughout the winter months, but, generally, National Trust properties close around October and re-open in the spring.