Fancy Free

 I'm a fan of the Fancy Free walks site. We have done a handful of them this year and it's brought forward new corners of my locality that I simply don't know, The best part is that new ones are being added on a regular basis and the details for all of them are kept up to date. They provide the perfect antidote to a working week when we find ourselves with a quiet day at the weekend and the weather is dry. Just pick one and go. This one is around nearby Friday Street.

The starting point was from the now sadly closed village pub. This was once one of Oliver Read's drinking holes. Nature is rapidly reclaiming it, but as is oft the way of the world round here it's earmarked for demolition and new housing.

Thankfully the second pub we came to is still vibrant and viable. The MG club is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year and some of the members had brought along their beloved cars for a meet up in the carpark. 

They weren't the only vintage vehicles we encountered on our way round. This beautifully restored Fordson Thames Flatbed Truck dates from the 1940s. It looked a little incongruous stuck next to a muddy tractor.

With a rather lovely shaggy parasol mushroom to finish for 'tis indeed 'shroom season🍄

It might have been a tad on the overcast side today, but still a pleasure to walk the woods and enjoy the great outdoors.

Arilx

Please shut the gate.

 

I saw this on our walk yesterday. Whilst I understand why we needed to shut the gate I am still none the wiser as to the type of livestock from the image😆 we were supposed to be keeping in. My friend suggested anteaters and it seems as good a guess as any! I do love these little oddities you encounter when out and about.

Arilx

Superhero

 This was the winner in the local village's annual scarecrow competition. The theme was "superheroes" and Captain Tom Moore is the real deal.

Have a fabulous weekend one and all.

Arilx

The Final Incarnation

Following on from yesterday Eltham Palace underwent its final and possibly most dramatic transformation when it passed into the hands of Stephen and Virginia Courtauld in 1933. With millions at their disposal this couple set about creating a modern masterpiece which would incorporate the Great Hall and sit sensitively alongside it. On this occasion I think it best that I simply share images of what we saw and let them do the talking. This was the final one of our "holi"days.

It was quite a departure for us from the type of place we normally visit and I enjoyed the complete change in direction.

Arilx

Royal Favour

In the late 13th century Anthony Bek, the then Bishop of Durham, bought Eltham Manor. It didn't meet his idea of a residence befitting his station so he rebuilt a grander affair with a moat. Upon his death it was bequeathed to his friend Edward I. He too thought it fell below the standards he would expect for his domestic arrangements as the Monarch so once again it was upgraded into a palace. 

For many generations it remained as a Royal residence. The hunting was good, you could hold lavish Christmas festivities for 2000 and it could sleep 800. It also provided an excellent base for diplomacy. Henry IV holds the record for being the only King to have entertained a Byzantine Emperor in 1400. All the stops were pulled out for his visit....a joust held in his honour and even fire breathing dragons [now that is something I'd have liked to have seen!]. Henry VIII spent much of his boyhood here and I rather liked the detail that he had his own fool, John Goose, there with him. However, us humans like novelty and new shiny things. We also like whichever option is easiest and with the building of Greenwich Palace this one's days were numbered. The new palace was far easier to reach by river and Eltham was quietly abandoned. Cromwellian troops running amok in the 1640s caused damaged to an already vulnerable building and by 1663 it was being run as a farm. Little remains from this time bar a few old walls with their diapered decoration and the footprint of some of the demolished parts. The bridge is now the oldest working bridge in London

The most magnificent part though is thankfully still standing. This is the Great Hall which was commissioned by Edward IV in the 1470s. During the site's time as a farm this was used as a barn, but thankfully a few enlightened souls realised the merit of saving the ruins and restoration started in the 1820s. I'll cover the next chapter of this amazing place in tomorrow's post, but for now I'll leave you with photos from the inside of this imposing edifice with its hammerbeam roof and interior details.

Arilx

Galling

 

This funny looking little thing is called a Robin's Pincushion gall and it's usually to be seen on wild roses. I've learnt that it was known as a Robin Redbreast's cushion in West Sussex and if you wore it around your neck it would cure you from whooping cough [along with many hundreds of other folkloric cures!]

Arilx

In for a penny in for a pound.

As a clothes sorter volunteer for a local charity, we're allowed to keep the odd item for ourselves. One of the items that came out of my bags was a Per Una skirt which I really liked. "Keep it" my friend urged as it was destined just to be recycled even though it's still in very good condition. Reuse is better than recycle, so I brought it home even though I knew it was far too big for me. 

I'm no seamstress, but the one thing I've learnt this year is to give it a go and not get too hung up on the results. Not having had to pay for it what did I have to lose by trying to alter it....worst case scenario was that it ended up being put back in the recycling next month. Having thought my way round it before I touched a pair of scissors I whipped out the zip and lining and then cut a section off straight across the top. With some black fabric I already had I made the tie, stitched back in the lining and restitched the side seam. I don't mind the shorter length as I always intended to wear it with long boots and a cardigan so it suits me fine. Not having a machine has made this the perfect project for the cooler evenings whilst catching up on the TV programmes I've missed.

It isn't perfect, but I'm pleased with it and I now feel encouraged to have a go again if I find something else that could become wearable with a bit of tinkering with.

Arilx