Hot hot hot

We've had a lovely day.

 

 We set off early and headed for Kew Gardens.  Until a few well-behaved school groups arrived, we had the place more or less to ourselves.

We were surprised at how much open space there was - I'm not altogether sure what I expected but I didn't imagine it to be quite like this.

 And neither did I imagine our garden wall to be here either!

 I looked forward to seeing these, however.

and whilst a frog chorus would have completed the scene, the peace and quiet was equally enjoyable!

   Finally, what day in London is complete without meeting Edward for drinks and supper at "the office"?  Not only that, but since we weren't rushing off for a train, we could spend time with a privileged look behind the scenes.  As Big Ben struck ten o'clock, we were standing open-mouthed, gazing at the gilded ceiling of the Robing Room, the wonderful portraits in the Royal Gallery and trying to remember as many details as we could about the portraits in the Princes Chamber - Dudley, Lady Jane Grey, Arthur Prince of Wales, the six wives and Henry himself.  Such riches, such history - Magna Carta there on the wall and over there in a glass case, a facsimile, covered in red wax seals, of the death warrant of Charles I when we'd just stood on the very spot where he had received the judgement, too.

You can do the same tour as we did, by clicking here  I was so sorry that I couldn't take any photographs, but seeing the virtual tours is better still.  You can even click to get a close up of Charles ! death warrant and Oliver Cromwell's signature.  Amazing.

We walked back to our lovely hotel across the park on a sultry Summer evening and felt very fortunate indeed!

Oh my...

These warm summer days are passing so quickly in the company of good friends from all over the place.  We've enjoyed art, sculpture shows and open gardens galore.  We've celebrated a Golden Wedding Anniversary in a nearby garden, enjoyed a beautiful Sunday afternoon sitting on a village green watching morris dancing and drinking cider.  Occasionally, we've relaxed at home enjoying plenty of interesting conversation and a bottle of wine or two.  During busy times like these, it's all too easy to worry about what's happening tomorrow, never mind later in the week, so we're trying hard to simply sit back and enjoy the here and now.

I keep taking my "photo of the day" as a reminder of some lovely days and hope this gorgeous weather will last for a little while longer.

An English summers's day is such a rare treasure. 

A great crust!

Mark and I have spent a terrific day at Shipton Mill, learning to bake excellent bread with Clive, their master baker.  Whilst I wouldn't describe either of us as total novices, it was clear from the start that neither of us really understood the whys and wherefores of the process.  Thanks to Clive's clear explanations, we were soon producing the silkiest of doughs and within a couple of hours we had a small collection of loaves.  That's my crusty cottage loaf up there in the photograph - isn't it gorgeous?

 

After a tour of the mill and a delicious lunch - yes, with yummy bread baked by Clive this morning - we made an enriched dough for Chelsea buns (did Mark's eyes light up to hear those magic words?!) and a sweet pastry for piecrust.

We left bearing a tray full of goodies: a cottage loaf, a herby soda bread, pittas, a white plait, a dozen Chelseas and a half pound of sweet shortcrust pastry.

Oh, and a bag containing some of Clive's 14-year old "mother" (sourdough starter, for us to keep alive by feeding and using to bake our own delicious sourdough bread)

What a generous chap. 

What delightful people, so ready and willing to share their pride in the products they produce and their love of good, home made bread. 

What a lovely day!

No-one would have believed....

Thirty years on.  Two couples of similar vintage and musical heritage spot the notice of a forthcoming live performance in Birmingham and eagerly organise tickets for this, the 30th Anniversary tour of Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds".  Having been brought up on such things, the 24yr old "next generation" agrees to join the olds for the night and in a great evening of light and laughter (and serious political discussion!) the five of us had a wonderful time.

Great to see so many of the original musicians performing this oh-so-familiar work.  We've just about worn out the 2-CD set over the years and have enjoyed watching the DVD of the first tour, recorded some years ago.  So, it was with some trepidation that we watched Justin Hayward step onto the stage and start to sing...needn't have worried though.   

The whole thing was a huge success from start to finish.  We loved it!

Treasure

Though there was much treasure to be found in and around Umea (much of it in the Hemslojdens shop) just a couple of small things found their way home with me.

 

These short, handmade birch (of course) needles were such a great find that I was sorely tempted to buy a pair in every size.  I didn't.  We'll see how useful these are and perhaps I'll make a list of more sizes when a further visit to Umea is scheduled - maybe later in the year.

I've tried to find a link to the small but very comprehensive knitting shop where I bought them, or to the makers themselves, but sadly no joy. 

Of course, I couldn't leave the Hemslodjens store empty handed and fell for this book of terrific wristwarmer patterns.  In Swedish.  Crochet.  Do I speak Swedish?  No.  Can I crochet?  Well.....not very well.  So, we have the next challenge!