Being Mrs C

Cragside

One of the nest things about having had some time away from home was being able to go and re-visit places that we used to go to as a family years ago. One of those was Cragside where we regularly used to visit on trips up to Northumberland.

The house itself is fascinating and full of great antiques and period furniture. Sadly the timing of our trip meant that the house had closed for the winter just the week before, but the grounds still hold lots of wonders themselves.

The November light gave things a slightly eerie feeling and it wasn't difficult to imagine seeing a strange figure appearing from the dark areas around the lake, or from the murky water itself.

Green colours also strangely appeared stronger in the fading light, but the moodiness of the sky was something that captured my imagination. The clouds certainly threatened rain, but they came after what had actually been a bright sunny winters day. 

We were incredibly lucky that it kept dry whilst we were out and the weather only turned very nasty once we were all safely inside the cottage where we were staying. There the thick lined curtains and Clearview woodburner made the cold and wet of outside seem far, far away.

Scott's View

There is something quite magical about the Scottish Borders and I think that this panorama from Scott's View gives a fantastic example. With the Cheviot Hills in the background and the River Tweed running through the valley there is no wonder that this was Sir Walter Scott's favourite view. When ever he passed along the road he always stopped his horses so that he could take in the view. 

The story goes that his funeral procession also passed this way and that the horses stopped of their own accord to allow their master one final look.

Planned excitement

Still feeling rough from a cold that I seem to have picked up, but to cheer myself up I've this morning booked tickets for a couple of things that I'm planning to do over the next couple of months.

Firstly I'm going along to the annual Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace. This is an event that I've been along to many times over the last few years. I normally spend most of my time going round the stalls, but this year their theme is make do and mend, something that I'm always interested in. The demonstration parts of the day may therefore be of more interest to me than they sometimes are. Although the show is only a couple of weeks away it still counts as an advance ticket booking so I should receive a "savings book" with some vouchers in to help me save some money on the day as I know I won't be able to not buy anything!

The second outing is to the Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair. I've not been along to this before (or to the Spring fair) but having recently discovered the magazine, fallen in love with it and started subscribing, I thought it may be the kind of thing that I enjoy - and it might also give me some good ideas for decorating our new house for Christmas (I'm already getting excited about now having the space to have a real Christmas tree!)

Two lovely days out to look forward to!

Anglesey Abbey

Mr C and I spent yesterday at Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire with my parents to celebrate my birthday. Amazingly the weather held for us and it was so unlike the autumnal weather that we seem to be having today.

I have to admit that I had no real idea what to expect from Anglesey Abbey as the location for our celebrations was mainly chosen for being roughly halfway between where my parents and we live. I was somewhat amazed though at just how much there was to see and do.

I was intrigued to know where this door went to. I'm guessing it was some sort of performance area in the woods - maybe?

As well as the Jacobean house and beautiful gardens there is also a huge amount of woodland that has been created into a nature reserve and teaching area, complete with bird hide, in additional to a lovely traditional mill. The site also has the most modern National Trust visitors' centre that I've ever seen. All very nicely done with a lovely big cafe/restaurant area with some very yummy food, including an afternoon cream tea!

Another added bonus was being able to pick up a couple of free packs of seeds as part of the Food Glorious Food campaign. I now have rocket and pumpkin seeds that I can hopefully grow when we're in the new house. In addition to this they were also giving away some small pots and markers as part of what seems to be a National Trust Greener Gardens scheme. Fantastic!

Mum and Dad have also realised just how interested I am in growing my own so I was delighted to receive a copy of Veg Patch: River Cottage Handbook No.4. I've not yet had time to sit down and read it, but I'm hoping that by the time that it's the right time of year to start I'm going to be pretty well prepared! 

Shaw's Corner

To provide a break from packing and sorting, Mr C and I took a trip along to Shaw's Corner, the former home of George Bernard Shaw. We've been there a couple of times before and always enjoyed the peace and quiet and lovely gardens. This time was no different.

Although, my macro photography skills do seem to be improving.

One thing that all visitors must see though is GBS's revolving Writing Hut at the bottom of the garden. This is where he wrote many of his famous plays, with telephone connectivity back to the main house. The hut was designed to rotate to allow it to be turned around as the sun moved during the day. A genius idea.

Hardwick Hall

Mr C was off on a stag do last Saturday, so I decided to head up north, meet up with my parents and explore somewhere where we used to go when I was a child.

I have very fond memories of going for lunch in the Big Kitchen at Hardwick Hall. Now that I'm a bit larger myself, the kitchen didn't seem quite as big as I remembered, but the rest of the hall certainly didn't disappoint.

Bess of Hardwick used to be the second most powerful woman in the country, following Queen Elizabeth I, and the house gives the visitor an insight as to just what that power brought in terms of a home. One the things that Hardwick is most famous for is the 16th and 17th century tapestries and embroideries that cover most of the rooms inside the house. They are fantastic to look at and the National Trust is doing a great job of restoring them. As mum and I looked at them it did make me feel a tad embarrassed about the embroidery I do. Firstly because may work is just so small in comparison. I would have loved a bit more information on just how the tapestries and embroideries were created. I found myself wondering just how many women worked on them, how long it too and also how they actually managed to do it by either available day light or candle light.

The gardens are not huge, but the herb garden next to the house is very different compared to what I have seen previously. 

A lucky break in the weather allowed us time to walk around the garden and take in the fantastic views of both the new hall, its old, now ruined predecessor.

A lovely day out - just a shame that when coming from the south you have to endure mile after mile of roadworks on the M1!

Village cricket

One tradition Mr C and I have every summer is to pop down to Mr C's dad's local cricket club in Harpenden. It's a lovely way to spend a lazy summer Sunday afternoon, especially with a cold drink in hand.

I wouldn't really call myself a cricket fan - I certainly couldn't even try to explain the rules - but any games that stops for afternoon tea has to be good in some way!

Afternoon tea the last time we were there provided a great opportunity for a walk around the area and there can be nothing quite as nice as a field full of buttercups like this.

Buttercups just remind me of childhood summers - there's something so simple, innocent, yet jolly, about them.

Summer also means that it's time to get my summer wardrobe out- if you can call it that - and one favourite at the moment is these shoes.

They're simple, and incredibly comfortable, but the detail of the flower on the side of the fastening is just irresistible!

Attingham

Normal service is almost resumed chez C.

Yesterday we were at a wedding over in Shrewsbury and seeing as we had to check out of our accommodation by 10.30 and yet weren't due to see friends in Birmingham until 3pm we decided to once again make the most of our National Trust membership and went along to nearby Attingham. I'm so glad we did as it was a wonderful way to spend a few hours.

Not only was I delighted to see the carpet of bluebells in the wood, but the rest of the grounds were also lovely and tranquil to walk around. We were also lucky enough to get in on an early guided tour of the house before it formally opened to the public for the day. Our guide was one of the conservation cleaning team who work at Attingham and in a wonderful thirty minutes she took the group round some of the house and taught us about the huge amount of work that the Trust, its staff and volunteers, have to constantly undertake to protect the house and its contents and ensure that it is conserved for future generations.

The whole thirty minutes was completely fascinating and flew by so quickly. If you ever get the opportunity to do a similar tour then I strongly recommend it. I had an inkling as to where some of my annual membership goes, but after today I really do feel that it's going to a good cause. The delicate work that goes into cleaning the properties and their contents is incredibly time consuming, but in addition to that there is also the ongoing work to protect from various insects and pests, as well as the environment itself. I walked out of the house feeling proud to be a member of a charity that is doing so much to conserve the country's history for future generations.

A walk around the grounds was certainly a welcome fresh air exposure after the wedding party excesses the night before. The grounds provide some wonderful footpaths through the deer park and woodland, and in addition Attingham is currently host to a sculpture exhibition entitled Give me Shelter.

Now, modern art is something that I find quite difficult to understand and hence some of the sculptures in this collection where a little hard for me to accept. Above is one that I did appreciate though. "How to survive in the coming bad years" by Ivan and Heather Morison is a slightly strange looking clay structure which, as the guide leaflet describes, does resemble an "oversized Dalek". Apparently it is inspired by Middle Eastern traditional rookeries and the idea of providing a shelter for birds, whilst the bird in return provide their squab for fertiliser. 

I just liked the look of it though and the strange way in which it managed to both fit into the surroundings, whilst also clashing with them. The sculpture also provides a practical purpose by being a home for local bird life and will disintegrate over time (the obvious cracks and health and safety required roped off area suggest that this may be not far away).

A lovely way to spend a few hours on a Bank Holiday Sunday.

We broke our journey back to St Albans with a quick stop in Birmingham to meet up with some old friends and the latest addition to their family. Little baby D is only three and a half weeks old and incredibly cute. I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to catch up with him (and Mum, Dad and proud big brother).

Birds, birds, birds...

We've had quite a quiet Easter weekend, but it seems that we've actually been quite busy looking at birds and making the most of our RSPB membership.

On Saturday we headed into the centre of St Albans to Verulam Park where there are currently a large number of herons nesting on the island in the centre of the lake there. We read in the local paper about how the RSPB had set up a viewing facility there for the public to get a better view of the nests and chicks. Unfortunately the day that we went along this didn't seem to be operating. Still, with the binoculars that I got for Christmas and Mr C's big camera lens we get a pretty good view. 

You obviously can't take pictures with binoculars though so you'll have to rely on Mr C's photographic evidence. 

On bank holiday Monday we went along to the Rye Meads reserve over by the River Lee. The reserve is jointly run by the RSPB and Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust and has a total of ten hides across the wetlands reserve to allow visitors to get a good sight of the local wildlife. Once again, photographic evidence is provided by Mr C. 

One thing the visit did make me realise is how few birds I actually recognise. The photographs at least allow us to come back and in our own time compare the photos with what is in the bird books. It'd be much more useful though if I could actually recognise them in real time. A trick I'm still to master!

St Albans' Abbey

Last Sunday a friend of ours came up to St Albans to join us for Sunday lunch. After being well fed on a fantastic pub roast dinner we took a walk around the city centre to show him some of the sights. One must do venue was the Abbey. It's one of my favourite parts of St Albans and the building itself is quite spectacular.

I'd like to share two of my favourite features with you.

Firstly, the ceiling of the tower which dates from the sixteenth century. The middle four panels show the arms of St Alban, England, St George and Edward the Confessor. Surrounding these four panels are the roses of York and Lancaster that signify the importance of St Albans in the War of the Roses. Two battles that were part or the War of the Roses took place in St Albans in 1455 and 1461 and many believe that the 1455 battle was actually the opening battle between the Lancastrians and Yorkists.

Apologies for the poor photograph quality, but I can never cease to be amazed by the colours in the rose window. The window in the north transept was designed by Lord Grimthorpe in the late nineteenth century, but the glass in it was designed by Alan Younger and unveiled in 1989.

This photograph doesn't do real justice to the colours; the blue in particular is incredibly rich and like nothing I've ever seen before.

I can't pretend to know all these facts myself though - I've recently been reading St Albans: A History by Mark Freeman and it's providing me with some fantastic detail into the history of the city and many of the fantastic historic buildings. I like knowing about and understanding the history of where I am living and in London this was relatively easy to do. Not as much is written about St Albans, but this book is certainly a real gem - and the only one I've seen that covers everything in the city rather than just a specific thing.