Great weekend (except for the footie)

I wish you could smell these roses!

Spent a sunny Saturday at the great National Trust house - Waddesdon Manor, owned by the Rothschild family. Saw 45 amazing rooms in this French Chateau style house and a fab selection of Meissen and Sevres, oil paintings, books and glass. The gardens were stunning, an inspiring place for a picnic, and I can't decribe the perfume in the rose garden. All in all wonderful day out.

Sunday was mixed. Had a lovely BBQ lunch with friends, shame about the result of the football match. Never mind - the Pimms dulled the pain and the company made it a special occasion! At least Murray is doing better in the tennis and the Tour de France starts next week.

Tonight's class - Mind the Gap

Felt inspired by some lovely die cut flowers and butterflies from Craftwork Cards which i picked up at the Craft Barn last week. Tonight's class is called 'mind the gap' hopefully you can see why in the samples here.

Sissinghurst

As the football season was finished and there were no craft fairs to visit we decided to get some use from our National Trust Membership tickets. Headed towards Kent and had planned to stop off along the A25 to visit Quebec House in Westerham but it was too early. Went on to Emmetts Gardens - a quiet retreat with spectacular views over Ide Hill and the High Weald of Kent. The rock gardens were beautiful and the rose garden will be lovely in a couple more weeks.

Took advantage of the sunny weather (even though the temperatures were more like winter) to visit the beautiful gardens at Sissinghurst and have a picnic. Plans started well but the heavens opened just as we arrived at the car park. People were hurrying back to their cars clutching blankets, hampers and belongings but, once we'd had our lunch the sun returned and we spent a good couple of hours walking round the grounds, shops, gardens and tower. The place is usually so busy that entrance tickets are timed but the earlier shower meant we went straight in and had time and space to take loads of photos.

Worn out Wednesday

Had another busy day - so what's new? Worked all morning in the church office before coming home for a late lunch and then 2 hours battling with the ground elder in the borders in the back garden. Mulched with compost and planted out loads of foxglove seedlings which should flower next year with luck.

Even managed to plant up 7 hanging baskets and several tubs and pots with Busy Lizzies before retiring to the craft room to make next Monday's samples. Just the supper to prepare then we're off to visit friends for the evening. Never a dull moment.

Might be a bit stiff in the morning as I can't kneel yet and had to do the gardening bending over. Good job I have loose hamstrings and can touch my toes without batting an eyelid. Might be a different story tomorrow though.

Crafty Friday

Enjoyed our small but select class using Basic Grey Kioshi papers and 'pocket' cards

Derby Festival

The eventual winner of the 3.30pm

What a difference a day makes - Derby Day on the mound at Tattenham Corner

A very quiet Oaks Day

It's hard to believe that 40 years ago we got married on the Oaks Day (moved to a Saturday that year). The Downs was so packed and the traffic very heavy that I had a police escort to get me to the church on time. As I drove across the Downs, 2 police motorbikes appeared on either side and got me there safely. I felt like the Queen, giving a wave to all the well-wishers around Tattenham Corner!

This year the traffic was very sparse and, although it was a beautiful sunny day, the crowds were much reduced. What a difference a day makes - Derby Day dawned with an influx of hospitality tents and bookies stands and the open top buses lined the rails. The recession seems to have had some impact as it was a very tame day compared to the huge crowds and party atmosphere of years gone by.

Ruby Anniversary (6th June)

The way we were - Saturday, June 6th 1970

Got a beautiful bunch of flowers from Clive and some lovely jewelry (Bath Glass)
I'm getting quite good at making paper roses now as you can see from the card I sent him.

Back again

The Island Escape

Barcelona Harbour. Teaming with people and very warm. Thousands of boats and ideal sailing conditions for all enthusiasts. Explored the city including Olympic satadium, Sagrada and Spanish Village

Sagrada - an amazing unfinished cathedral.

Barcelona has many stunning buildings including this one and the whole place is an architechs dream.

Strelitzias growing wild in the south of France

Had a fabulous holiday cruising around the western Mediterranean. the weather was mainly hot and sunny with a couple of cloudier mornings. Two nights the sea was very rough but I slept through all the pitching and rolling and even managed a full English the next morning unlike many of the other passengers!
French Riviera. The pretty hillside village of Bormes les Mimosas (shame they bloom in December) The whole place had a rich perfume and you can see why this is the centre of the perfume industry. Mimosa, roses, jasmin, lavender ..... the list goes on

Grand Hotel - must have been wonderful in it's heyday. Still a very nice place to spend time away from the hustle and bustle.

Bormes les Mimos
near Toulon . No place for cars so lots of walking through cobbled streets with tiny cafes at every turn

ready to sail from Naples to Ajaccio. This bar in the 12th deck was a favourite viewing place and watering hole. Worked my way down the extensive list of cocktails throughout the week

Isle of Capri - Make a wish when you go through this hole in the rocks

Perfumerie on Capri. All the perfumes are made from locally grown flowers

Lemons anyone?

Looking towards Naples and Sorrento from Capri

Palma Harbour, Majorca

Flew to Palma, Majorca then on to Palermo, Sicily - Naples (and Capri, Italy) - Ajassio, Corsica - Toulon, French Riviera, and Barcelona before sailing back to Palma for the flight home.