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 The TomTom within the Renault is somewhat out of date so we need to discover how to upgrade the maps within it.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!

Saturday Trip to Kinver Edge

Carol has had a really bad couple of weeks at work at Milton Keynes Academy. It seemed only reasonable that we go out for the day, mainly to get away from the stresses of life. Also, Alfie deserved a day out. He's always up for a walk and doesn't need a great deal of encouragement. I think, if you've read any of my earlier blog posts, you'll have discovered how a small Yorkshire Terrier can behave, from one minute being a quiet, sensible little bundle and the next, with the slightest hint of the word 'walk,' or going near his lead, he becomes a raging little Tasmanian Devil-type character, growing and yapping madly. We didn't actually utter the word 'walk' within ear-shot so it was a surprise to us that he had picked up our intentions of going out. It was bright and sunny, having been quite cold for the past few day, although generally fine. We'd looked on-line for somewhere suitable for dogs and Carol had said she'd seen something on the Sunday evening BBC1 television programme 'Countryfile' about Kinver Edge and the rock houses there. I might have seen it on there or mentioned on one of the many and various television programmes we watch. For all that, it did seem an intriguing sort of place to visit. We had to get Alfie ensconced within the cage in the back of the car first, set up the satnav to allow us to find 'Kinver Edge' and then first fill up with petrol at the Shell station along Grafton Street and check the tyre pressures. Something that is necessary before we go on a long journey. I'm glad my dad always told me to check this sort of thing on every car I've owned, from filling the radiator with water, or at least checking the level, the windscreen washer water level, tyres, lights, oil etc etc. It's somehow inculcated within me from the first car I owned way back when I had passed my driving test in 1969 and had an ancient Ford Anglia which my parents bought me for the princely sum of £75. That's another story for another day and mentioned in fairly full detail in an earlier blog post.

So we set off, taking the directions as given by Dora (the name we've christened our Gamin SatNav.) Perhaps it's a bit stupid to give a gadget a name, but it does have a female voice and so-named after the children's television show character 'Dora The Explorer.' She generally does a good job, and tells you fairly well in advance when to turn left, right or whatever. But somehow we didn't do exactly what she advised and ended up in not quite the right place at one point. Actually going very near Claines, the village outside Worcester where my daughter and son-in-law live with my grandson, George. We could have dropped in, but we thought as we hadn't given them notice, it wasn't such a good idea. So we drove on until we got to Stourbridge. I was under the impression it was closer to Birmingham than it was. We eventually arrived at Kinver Edge, which is a range of rocky outcrops and we were making for Holy Austin Rock Houses. We couldn't immediately find a car-parking space along the side of the road, it was that busy almost every space was occupied by a car, but we eventually arrived at the dedicated National Trust carpark which seemed better as it was off the road.

Kinver Rocks

Having got Alfie out of the back of the car, by which time he had begun to let the whole neighbourhood know that he was about by barking and yapping very loudly (I suppose you would, if you had been imprisoned within a cage in the back of a car for near enough two hours.) we set off to walk towards the rock outcrop. It was a good 20-minute walk and we were able to let Alfie run, which was great as that was basically all he want to do. Running ahead of us, through an attractive wood, some of the path having a gradient and in places we came across carved seats where we stopped to take photographs and catch our breath. Eventually we came out in an open area with the rock outcrop before us, rising up perhaps a hundred and fifty feet, with a path cut into the side and with buildings perched on the summit.

Holy Austin Rock Houses, on top of the rocky out-crop at Kinver.

It was quite a walk, with steps some of the way, a sheer drop down on one side and the rock face on the other. Then turning a corner, a set of further steps, little terraces cut into the rock side, which had been made into gardens, complete with fences, lawns and everything you would expect with a garden, but certainly not at this sort of height off the ground. Looking down, I could see lots of grass, but at a fairly steep angle, which must have taken a great deal of skill to mow with any sort of mechanical device. Further steps, at even more of a steep angle, leading eventually to the very top of the rock. It was a real surprise to find a set of neat cottages, cut into the rocks, one having a room which had been made into a café, where we bought some filled rolls to eat, sitting on a terraced-area, with tables and chairs and views down to the village below and further, to the open valley and the horizon. I think the view was as far as the Malvern Hills, but I'm not sure exactly. But it was worth the effort with such a magnificent view. This is called Holy Austin Rock Houses, but I'm not sure why 'holy' exactly. Anything which has either an artistic or historical connection is interesting to us and I have to say it was very quirky and interesting. We had a look in some of the caves, some which had been part of dwellings at some stage or another. Also, there are toilets hidden quite discreetly behind one of the houses, a definite necessity for some of us, unfortunately. Very well kept and I wonder how on earth they got the water up there! Also, if you were to live there, what about deliveries, such as post? I'd feel sorry for the poor old postman, having to labour up and down those steps, particularly if you were carrying a heavy bag with letters in it.

Anyway, having had a good look around the place, we began our careful decent and walked back towards the carpark. We bought ice cream from a van parked along the side of the road and then began the walk back to the car. It's a good deal more of a climb back than you realise when you are walking in the other direction, but it was certainly good exercise for the two of us and even more so for Alfie who is only little. Once back at the car we soon drove home and on the way stopped off at a retail park we could see from the Motorway near Banbury as there was a Marks and Spencer's in there where we bought salad which we had for our meal when we got home. So, if you want somewhere to visit which is unusual, then I can recommend Kinver Edge. Since looking on the National Trust website we discovered that there are many more rock houses in the area, so we'll have to make a further visit and explore these other houses.

Trip to Seizencote

Having spent the past two days indoors avoiding the roasting heat it was great to get in the car and go out for the day. We had planned to go out on Tuesday after Carol had been to Ashfield Medical Centre and had a blood test and a medication review with the doctor. She wanted a repeat prescription and was told by the receptionist that a doctor would ring to speak to her before writing her the required prescription. Actually, this doesn't happen. You don't now usually get a written prescription unless it's more urgent and you need your meds immediately. If that's the case you can take the paper prescription into Cox and Robinson, the chemists, who have a branch a few units along from the surgery in Beanhill and it might take them ten or fifteen minutes to make up the order if you wait. But other than that your prescription can be done electronically if you ring your pre-arranged pharmacy to order over the telephone (as I do. My pharmacy is at Sainsbury's.) and the order is usually made up within a week. Less paperwork or that's what they hope. Having said that I have an additional medication, Lyrinel.  I try to have all my medications ordered at the same time, which makes common sense, but because the Lyrinel doesn't seem to coincide with the rest of my order, I have to order it separately. The petty administration at Ashfield won't allow this, which is becoming annoying. It would surely make their life easier and save time and paperwork. So, as my stock of Lyrinel runs out, I will ring Sainsbury's pharmacy and order, but it means having to make another journey into town for this. No wonder the N.H.S. is in crisis with this sort of petty behaviour from the pen-pushers who run the organisation.

We drove away from Milton Keynes, having set the new SatNav to direct us to Seizencote, a house and garden we haven't visited before and as members of the H.H.A. (Historic Houses Association) allowing us free entry. It took some while to decide where to visit because not everywhere in their handbook is open all week or at least the days we want to visit. There were a number of places we selected but then found they were open on that specific day and then because it has been so hot over the past few days we decided we didn't fancy going out. It's quite nice being able to merely programme the SatNav (a Garmin model which I bought on Amazon.) and just following the nice lady's voice as she directs you along the road. Certainly a good deal less stressful than trying to follow a printed map in a road atlas.

We know the road out towards Buckingham fairly well. We use this road regularly, usually, when we're going to a National Trust property such as Stowe Landscape Garden, which is just outside Buckingham or going towards Bicester, which we visit regularly (as you would know if you read this blog on a regular basis.) The SatNav, interestingly, took us through the centre of Buckingham. Which was strange, as this town has a by-pass? This is the route the bus takes when we have used it when deciding to visit Oxford and leave the car at home.

We were making initially to Moreton-In-Marsh, which is the nearest town to Seizencote. The house and garden weren't due to open until 2 p.m., so it was no good arriving too early. We decided to park in the centre of Moreton and spend some time looking in the shops near the market square. Not an easy matter of finding a space, as the place was already busy with cars. It seems a very busy centre with traffic rumbling through the middle. I know this route well as I drove through it years ago on a very regular basis when I worked at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham. My parents used to visit me on occasions and we often went to such places as Moreton-In-Marsh and Bourton-On-The-Water to visit the attractions such as the model village there or go to a very nice pub. My mother had lots of friends in and around the area who we visited also.

Moreton-In-Marsh main street

There are plenty of really nice shops to browse, some selling toys, gifts, cards and similar. Just the sort of shops you'd expect to find in what I imagine being a tourist-trap. I'm sure it is, because it's slap-bang in the middle of traditional Cotswold territory, and sure enough we saw a coach turn up and disgorge a load of elderly folk who looked the sort of people who would make straight for the nearest tea shop and enjoy cream tea, scones, jam, and cream. We found a Tesco Express ( a pity in a way, they seem to be everywhere, even in a classic Cotswold town centre.) and purchased sandwiches and crisps and found a bench to sit on in a shady place under a tree on a grassy area and munched our sandwiches.

It was then time to move off towards our destination, although we had plenty of time to kill. I had to reset the SatNav for Sezincote and we arrived in the carpark at around 1 p.m., giving us a little under an hour before the house and garden opened. Carol suggested we drive to Broadway Tower to kill the hour before Sezincote opened. We were there in minutes. We have visited it before, a rather imposing folly, built for no real practical purpose, and standing on a hill which means you can see it for miles around. We visited it a few years ago when we'd visited a National Trust property near the village of Broadway, Snowshill Manor. It seems they have developed the site where it stands with a sort of shopping outlet as well as upgrading the parking facilities as well as the paths towards the tower as well as a decent toilet block in what was a shepherd's hut. A really practical use for a traditional item.

Broadway Tower

We drove back to Sezincote and found by the time we returned that it was opened. The carpark had filled up considerably in the time we'd been away.

This property turned out to be really interesting. Very different to any of the other properties we've visited, run and protected by either the National Trust, H.H.A. or English Heritage. The gardens are quite amazing. Lots of little rivers and streams as well as canals and pools. The place has an oriental feel to it and the house itself has an onion dome on its roof. The whole place is reminiscent of the Brighton Pavilion and it's no surprise to learn that the Prince Regent is supposed to have visited Sezincote and it inspired him to have the Pavilion at Brighton designed in a similar style.

Garden at Sezincote

Having meandered about the gardens for approximately an hour and a half we decided we needed a cup of tea or at least some sort of refreshment and so wandered into the Orangery which has been converted into a tea-room and ordered a pot of tea and some very tasty chocolate cake. We had meant to tour the interior of the house and the next guided tour was due at 3 p.m. But once we got inside and the rest of the party were gathered in the entrance hall we found it to be exceptionally hot and so decided to decline and left. We did a bit more wandering in the garden and then returned to the carpark and drove home. It's actually quite a walk from the house and garden to the car park. Most properties have some sort of transport which allows visitors to be taken on a vehicle of some sort, such as at Stowe which has a sort of train arrangement, but no such transport at Sezincote and it's quite a hill walking to the carpark.

The weather has been exceptionally hot and sunny, as I have already mentioned. The scenery through Oxfordshire is quite stunning. The villages throughout and through which we drove are of that beautiful golden-coloured stone and in some respects, they might be considered stereotypical of what you'd think of as 'English,' with many of them thatched. In the countryside, the fields of corn are ready  for harvesting and we saw a few combine harvesters hard at work, usually followed by a cloud of dust as they work. Also, the tractors and trailers which assist in taking the grain from the combines and delivering their loads of wheat, oats or barley to whichever place for storage and in some cases driving slowly and as a result causing long traffic queues which no doubt cause some drivers some frustration.

We arrived back in Milton Keynes at around 4.55.