Day 181 - June 30th

Truple chocolate shortbread.

Day 180 - June 29th

Let sleeping dogs lie.

Day 179 - June 28th

Today was my mum & dad's 65th Wedding Anniversary. We joined them this evening for a drink to celebrate.

They were surprised to received n the post a congratulations card from the new King and Queen Consort.

Day 178 - June 27th

Wayne has gown some Sweet Peas. Despite expectations that they would be assorted colours, they all seem to eb the same pinkish-red colour.

Day 177 - June 26th

In my mum and dad's garden, Orange Day Lillies are flowering.

Day 176 - June 25th

Cutting the grass at my late father-in-laws house today we found the beautiful poppy. We may save some of the seeds to plant in our own garden.

Day 175 - June 24th

Today we joined the village for a Community Fun Day at the local playing fields,

There were vintage and collectable vehicles to look at....

.... Morris Men .....

.... and stall and games and foods, drinks and ice-creams.

Day 174 - June 23rd

My mum & dad have a lovely collection of clematis in their garden.

Day 173 - June 22nd

This week I bought alstroemerias for the living room.

Day 172 - June 21st

This evening when we went for a walk, the farmer was cutting one of his fields. He wasn't harvesting it so we assume that he was cutting his loses and cutting it all down to prepare it for the next crop.

Elsewhere everythign was looking lovely.

We managed to spot a few more bee orchids although this year there don't seem to be many.

Day 171 - June 20th

More scrapbooking time.

Day 170 - June 19th

I think some of our plant pots may have been getting too much water as mushrooms have also sprung up in them.

Day 169 - June 18th

Today is Father's Day. Wayne spent the day with some of the kids fishing, I'm not sure how many fish were caught but they all seemed to have a good time.

Day 168 - June 17th

Today I found some time to do some scrapbooking.

Day 167 - June 16th

Pinks.

Day 166 - June 15th

Today we checked out of our hotel and returned home.

Day 165 - June 14th

Warning - very heavy photo post

Today Lara had a work conference in Birmingham and an overnight stay so we offered to drive her there and have an away day ourselves. After dropping her off at the venue we drove to Baddesley Clinton a nearby National Trust Property. 

Baddesley Clinton is a moated manor house and probably originated from the 13th century. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the house is a Grade I listed building.

We started our visit in the house and entered via the gatehouse.

The house was built and extended in different phases in the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries and as you walk round the house you get glimpses of the efforts made by the owners and tenants to make it more secure, comfortable and easier to run.

The Great Hall

The Great Hall

The Dining Room

The Drawing Room

Henry Ferrer's Bedroom

The house has several priest holes and the National Trist is very proud to boast that one particular priest hole, accessed from an old privy, was successfully used in 1591 when a priest and his entourage were able to sucessfully hide for several hours from the authorities. 

The Chapel

The Great Parlour subsequently used as an art studio

The Great Parlour

The Library

The Library

After looking round the house we walked round the walled garden.

The flowers in the garden were beautiful.

Beside the walled garden the kitchen garden was full of vegetables.

After a bite to eat we then walked round the lake stopping to say hello to the ducks and a squirrel.

After visiting Baddesley Clinton we decided to dive the two and a half miles down the road to another National Trust Property - Packwood House.

Packwood House is a timber-framed Tudor manor house and has been owned by the National Trust since 1941. The house is a Grade I listed building.

On arriving at the property we were invited to join a garden tour being led by the former head gardener which was due to start shortly. We were led round the garden by John who told us a bit about the history of the garden and pointed out some of the more unusal plants and features of the garden. Unfirtunately being part of a group, meant I didn't get to stop and take photos of everything I would have liked.

After our garden tour, we looked in the house. The house began as a modest timber-framed farmhouse in the 1500s but was inherited by Graham Baron Ash in 1925, who spent the following two decades creating a house of Tudor character. He purchased an extensive collection of 16th and 17th century furniture, some obtained from nearby Baddesley Clinton. 

The Long Gallery