Bits and Bobs

 SONG -  Heart of the Country by Paul McCartney

Day 11 - May 10

I have been enjoying a proper English breakfast each morning but without the blood sausage, beans and black pudding. Well, and no tea. So that l end up with bacon (nothing like US bacon), eggs, & grilled mushroom & tomato. Yum. 

Today we drove to Cirencester (a much larger town than Lower Slaughter) to get Mr. B’s brand new shoes fixed at the Cobblers as the sole broke away from the uppers. We also bought him a new pair of tennis shoes as the only other shoes he had brought were flip-flops. 

He’s a proper Bobby-dazzler now

While waiting for the cobbler to finish his shoes, we popped into The Corn Hall for a “boot sale”. I found a few silver pieces to purchase but mostly it was fun to rummage through all of the vintage/antique bits & bobs.

On the way back to Lower Slaughter we stopped by Bibury to see Arlington Row. It was crowed with tour busses but we lucked out and found parking in the center of the village. 

“Arlington Row at Arlington in the parish of Bibury, Gloucestershire, England was built in the late 14th century as a wool store and converted into weavers' houses in the late 17th century. It is a Grade I listed building, owned by the National Trust. “ Wikipedia

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Manor House across the street from the Slaughter Inn.  

It was a beautiful warm evening and we sat outside for drinks & light appetizers. 

Care for a game of croquet anyone?

Sophie from St. Ninians near Stirling was our waitress and it was fascinating as she told us that she knew a lot of “Baird’s” growing up. We happen to be going to St. Ninians to do some research on Mr. B’s family tree!

Mr. B ordered a great bottle of Priorat from Spain and then our pre-appetizers arrived. 

It was a delicious Basil & Parmesan tart and a Fried Mushroom Quenelle

Followed by our starters - mine was White French asparagus with a Blood Orange butter & Sauce Maltese and Mr. B’s was Bang Bang Cornish Crab with crab bread & butter. 

For our main courses I had ordered Lake District Lamb with Morels, wild garlic, with a mint & caper condiment while Mr. B went with the Creedy Carver Duck with garden celeriac & parsley and a side of leg ragout.

And if that wasn’t enough they brought out pre-dessert which was a chocolate nugget with raspberry ice cream and for our ordered desserts we both had the Baked Apple with puff pastry & Carmel ice cream. 

We walked back to our Inn with a lighter pocketbook but happy hearts. 

Did I mention that our hotel is three-quarters surrounded by water, the river Eye? And that while we were getting ready for dinner about 20 Morgan cars pulled into our parking lot for the evening? The group was from Spain. 

Night……

Varoom

 SONG - Fast Car by Tracy Chapman

Day 10 - Thurs. May 9

After all of my garden tours in the Cotswolds, today was a day for Mr. B and he chose to visit the Morgan car museum & factory about an hour north of us in the Malvern Hills. 

And while cars are not that special to me (unless it has a cup holder & air conditioning) I do appreciate the design & craftsmanship that goes into these cars.  

Our day began with spending some time in the museum & showroom, then finishing with a two-plus hour factory tour.  

I was amazed that they use wood for part of their framework for each car

And that they produce a number of three wheel cars

We visited several specialized workrooms however we were unable to visit the design room as that was top secret and our tour guide Mike said they will be coming out with something new very soon!

It was a long but fun day at the Morgan Experience 

Until next time - Cheers!

 

A Blink & A Wave & George

SONG - Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

Day 9 - Wed. May 8

Breakfast at hotel & Mr. B had fried kippers. My full disclosure -  Ewwwww!

The garden I wanted to visit today didn’t open until 2 pm so we headed over to Chipping Campden first to see the Craft & Design Museum & St. James Church.

“In the spring of 1902 C.R. Ashbee, architect, designer and a leading figure in the Arts & Crafts movement, moved with his Guild of Handicraft to Chipping Campden from the East End of London. In total 50 Guildsmen and their families arrived that summer, along with their workshop equipment.

For Ashbee the movement was not just about creating beautiful things. It was about giving people satisfying work in a healthier environment.

This was the beginning of the story of craft and design in Chipping Campden”

-quote from the Court Barn Org.

St. James Church is next door to the Court Barn Museum and was well worth walking through its doors as it is a 13th century wool church. 

When we got into our car, I noticed a funny rectangular stone trough in front of us and I mentioned to Mr. B that it looked like a car wash. He suggested that it was a place to back up your cart into for ease of loading or unloading which made more sense. Well it was for backing your cart into and for washing it out. 

The Cart Wash

Snowshill Manor & Gardens was next on our list. It was owned by an eccentric guy, Charles Wade who displayed his hoards of collections. We had seen his collections in 2017 so really just wanted to enjoy the gardens. However, after lots of walking both uphill and downhill to get there, there wasn’t much in the way of formal gardens but there was a nice dovecote, orchard, kitchen garden and lots of sheep to enjoy. 

We then drove to Kiftsgate Gardens where we sat down to have a late lunch. All they had left was a cheese & chutney sandwich which Mr. B decided should be a fine match to his morning kippers! He is such an adventurous soul. 

And I had a piece of Victoria sponge cake (hello Paul Hollywood & Mary Berry)! 

Yummm…

We FaceTimed our grandsons from the garden. It was so great to see their faces before they had to head off to school. And to hear them yelling “YaYa Papa”!!!

Kiftsgate had Peonies the size of dinner plates. Amazing. It was a small but interesting garden and perfect for the end of our day. 

We still had to pop back into Chipping Campden for a few items including ice, which they use in such limited supply here in the UK. Every time Mr. B goes to get our room’s ice bucket filled up, the staff only give him about 12 ice cubes.

As we pulled into Charingworth Manor we noticed a helicopter parked in the grass. Are we having special guests tonight??? Could it be George Clooney? I’ll have to let you know tomorrow!

“I blinked AND waved “

- Jim to Jeanette when she reminded him to blink his headlights at a car that had pulled over for him on a single track.