A Sprinkle of Fairy Dust

Never one to be put off once on a mission I popped by the known site of a fairy door elsewhere in the town today...a little spot of persistence paid off.  The contents have changed since I first saw the photos last week on Faceache so do wonder whether it's a geocache.

Whoever has been busy creating this little bit of magic around out town I'd like to thank them for putting a sparkle in my life this week🌠🌠🌠

Arilx

One fine Spring day.

At last it seems Spring has decided to put in an appearance albeit fashionably late. Seeing as the weather forecast had been threatening sunshine rather than shunshine for once and positively balmy [or should that read barmy!] temperatures I invited my chum E along to look for fairy doors in the local park.

Yes you read that right....a local social media group giving me even more madcap ideas [as if she didn't have enough of her own I hear you sigh] has got a lot to answer for! I have to say we were singularly unlucky in our quest and decided that had we still had four year old children rather than late teens/early twenties we would have probably been more successful. No matter though....it was also about catching up after E has had an enforced period of rest for several weeks. She's a whizz on her trees and I always come away having learnt something new. There was a lot of very gentle pootling and a great deal more energetic chattering!

All of a sudden everything is bursting forth with new buds on the trees and budding flowers. The first photo is of a Wedding Tier tree [a new one on me ] and the yellow "cowslips" somehow didn't look quite right to me based on previous ones I've seen. I checked with People Who Know and they are indeed False Oxlips which are a hybrid cross between primroses and cowslips.

This very old oak looks like a moose on one side and now I know that the London Plane has a distinctive camouflage trunk I now find that not only are they in the park, but also growing along the road where I live. Typical!

Part of the enjoyment of these fuss free trips with E [aside from the promise of the delights of the cafe] is simply observing and nattering over our shared experience be that a sighting of a tufted duck, a moving memorial to a loved one on a bench or stroking the dragon in the middle of the maze.

Thankfully there are plenty of secluded spots in which to simply sit and watch the world go by.

On the way out I noticed this lovely little vista of the wild violets growing on the top of the park wall. The perfect end to a lovely afternoon.

Arilx

Flower Power

We are at the very earliest stages of starting a conversation about buying a new set of wheels [when I say new I mean new to us] as the old girl has given us good service, but things are just starting to go a bit Pete Tong. This may not even happen until next year, but we're looking to see what might tick the boxes.

Now if it was down to me I'd choose this one in a heartbeat.

I'm not sure that Mr GBT entirely agrees with my criteria of blooms and bumblebees as being a logical argument. I am afterall that girl who when told somebody has a new car simply wants to know what colour it is. I couldn't give a fiddler's flute as to the make....I use the same principle when choosing wine....once the price is right then it's down to how pretty the label is, a quirky name or an unusually shaped/coloured bottle. I know I'm a hopeless case aren't I! I saw this delightful car in the Uppark carpark a few days ago.

Arilx

Pack it in!

It seems Humphrey has decided to try out the delights of a term away at uni too and no matter how many times TYM evicted him back he came. Being all black he blended in rather well with the luggage and even more so when he hid in the big black laundry bag. To say TYM was getting a bit hacked off at his sheer persistence and antics is an understatement. Finding him snuggled down on his clean pile of clothes was the final straw and he found himself unceremoniously plonked on the other side of the closed bedroom door.

We did check the feline's whereabouts before embarking on our trip to take Himself back!

Arilx

Frou Frou Saturday

This is so true 😸

Arilx

Below Stairs

Evening all...one has been poking around the NT property of Uppark. I took my camera hoping to wow you with all the splendour of the posh rooms, but alas and alack I was thwarted because of a rule which only allows pictures in the servants' quarters. No matter.

If I can't show you images of the real thing why not the not so tiny dollshouse downstairs eh!

This rather magnificent 18th century edifice belonged to Sarah Lethieullier and she brought it to Uppark upon her marriage to Matthew Fetherstonhaugh in 1746. She was quite the gal because she accompanied her husband on the Grand Tour to Italy...a most unusual state of affairs for a woman to enter what had traditionally been very much a male only domain. No doubt a few eyebrows were raised at her impertinence.

The property seems to have had more than its fair share of strong willed women. The miniature servants might be depicted as mute and servile in this setting, but I should think there was a great deal of tittle tattling as the staff went about their work below stairs. One can only imagine the conversations held in the kitchen, the scullery or even the Butler's Pantry......

...after the rumours of one rather fast lady [for want of a better word] called Emma Hart dancing on the tables naked [you might know her better as Lady Hamilton, mistress of Nelson] or when old Sir Henry Fetherstonhaugh married the estate dairy maid who was fifty years his junior. Perhaps these tales were related to a young H G Wells when his mother, Sarah, was the housekeeper in the late 1800s. She was very hard of hearing and a special extra homemade set of bells had to be rigged up so that she would know when her services were required. The writer later recalled just how hopeless she was at her role and eventually she was sacked by the family!

From my perspective I was keen to find out what an old piece of bone was doing amongst all the shoe cleaning stuff and what on earth the butler used the curved tool for.

The marvellous room steward [is there anything they don't know?! I am in awe!] sated my curiousity and I now know the former was for pushing the polish into the boots to waterproof them and the latter was heated and then used to iron out the creases of top hats. That little bit of info was enough to keep me happy and sally forth to refresh myself with a well deserved cuppa and a bun!

Arilx

Touching

As you have probably noticed it is not that unusual for me to take a wander around a cemetery if the opportunity presents itself. Quietly reading inscriptions and taking in the details of the individual stones, it gives me quiet thinking time and the chance to step back for just a few minutes.

Again taken at SS Mary and Gabriel in South Harting these two graves stood out to me. On the first one I found the quote very moving. Since poking about online I now find it's by Edith Sitwell.

"Love is not changed by death. And nothing is lost and all in the end is harvest."

This one though was the one I found particularly touching. Amongst all the more standard skulls and cherubs was this 18th century one with the lovely personalised depiction of the couple kissing. I've certainly never seen the like before. The 8/9 part of the date has had me scratching my head! Can anyone enlighten me as to why it is shown in this way please?

Until tomorrowxx

Arilx